April 17, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1429

WASHINGTON, April 16: Pope Benedict XVI, making the first White House papal visit in nearly 30 years, pleaded on Wednesday for a peaceful end to global disputes as thousands of joyful well-wishers sang him “happy birthday.” Under a cloudless sky, US President George W. Bush welcomed the leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics with a 21-gun salute, the soaring notes of a famed soprano’s “Lord Prayer,” and an earnest “peace be with you.” An estimated 9,000 people — one of the largest ever crowds at an official White House event — packed the mansion’s South Lawn and waved little Vatican and US flags, as cries of “viva il papa!” (long live the pope) mingled with the two national anthems and a chorus of “happy birthday” for the pope, 81.

“You’ve chosen to visit America on your birthday. Well, birthdays are traditionally spent with close friends, so our entire nation is moved and honoured that you have decided to share this special day with us,” said Bush.

One family with three children held up a banner declaring “We love you pope hope.” ”I express once more my gratitude for your invitation, my joy to be in your midst, and my fervent prayers that Almighty God will confirm this nation and this people in the ways of justice, prosperity and peace,” said Benedict XVI.

Neither leader expressly mentioned areas — the death penalty, the war in Iraq, and harsh CIA interrogation methods — in which the Bush administration and the Vatican do not see eye to eye.

But with the war in its sixth year and amid rising US tensions with Iran, the pope appealed for “support for the patient efforts of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts and promote progress.” With the November US elections on the horizon, Bush invoked the Vatican’s teachings where they align with the conservative views espoused by his Republicans — like opposition to abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

“In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary,” said the president.

Bush also mentioned the global war on terrorism, declaring: “We need your message that God is love. And embracing this love is the surest way to save men from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism.” Benedict XVI was just the second pope to visit the White House and the first to come here in 29 years.—AFP