Benedict XVI ready to meet America

Benedict has struggled against the tide of secularism, but may see the United States — which he visited five times as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — as a chance to gain ground.

In recently receiving the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, Benedict welcomed what he called the American people's "historic" appreciation of the role of religion in shaping public policy.

He used the occasion to condemn abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage, praising "the efforts of so many of your fellow citizens and government leaders to ensure legal protection for God's gift of life from conception to natural death."

The visit would normally have taken place in October, when the General Assembly of the United Nations meets, but was moved up to avoid clashing with the last weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign.

Beginning at the White House
Benedict will begin the trip with a visit with President Bush at the White House. Like his predecessor, Benedict was sharply critical of the war in Iraq but shares with Bush a deep concern over the plight of Iraqi Christians.

The pope also will turn 81 while in the United States, and all American cardinals have been invited to a birthday lunch Wednesday at the Vatican embassy in Washington. Vatican aides say the pope is in good shape.

"I was struck, the Holy Father just seemed very much energized," Archbishop Wuerl said after meeting with Benedict in Rome before the trip. "His walk, his gait is impressive. You would never guess his age."

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters last Tuesday that Benedict has no plans to meet with any of the candidates. However, a host of politicians from both major parties may be on hand Wednesday when he visits the White House.

Values 'not negotiable'
Benedict has warned Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and marriage that the faith's values are "not negotiable."

However, unlike 2004 when Democratic contender John Kerry's support of abortion rights caused friction among Catholic bishops, none of the leading Democratic or Republican candidates this year is a Catholic. The voting faithful in America do not cast their ballots in a bloc.

Washington Archbishop Wuerl believes Benedict, who speaks excellent if accented English, will look at the "bigger picture" when he has that first public encounter at the White House. He said it will be an occasion "to highlight the Catholic presence and what contribution they can make in this incredibly wonderful country."

Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican's No. 2 official, said Benedict will stress the "dignity of the human being" in his address to the United Nations.

Asked in an AP interview what impact the speech may have on U.S. policy, Bertone said, "every nation has its dignity. It is obvious that also this consideration has an impact on the policy of a great power like the United States. The United States shares the ideals of the United Nations."

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