Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI is to receive US President Barack Obama on July 10 for their first-ever meeting, the Vatican said Wednesday, confirming reports from the US. The meeting would come directly after Obama attends the Group of Eight (G8) summit in central Italy, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
In language signalling that Benedict was keen on meeting the new US president, Lombardi said the pontiff's schedule was "open to receive the American president on the afternoon of the 10th of July."
Normally the pope receives high-ranking guests during the morning hours, but in Obama's case he was making an exception with the afternoon appointment.
A thorny issue in the Vatican's ties with the US administration concerns abortion, Vatican diplomats noted. Shortly after taking office last January, Obama approved financial support for organisations which support abortions, a decision sharply criticised by the Holy See.
