Europe
Bush, Pope discuss war in Iraq
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Jun 9, 2007 - 12:03:51 PM

ROME - President Bush said Saturday that and he and Pope Benedict XVI discussed the pontiff's deep worries that Christians in Iraq would not be embraced by the Muslim majority.

U.S. President George Bush gives a walking sticking made by a former homeless man in Dallas, Texas, to Pope Benedict XVI as they meet at the Vatican, Saturday, June 9, 2007. President Bush, who will meet Italian Premier Romano Prodi and former Premier Sivio Berlusconi, is in Rome as part of his trip through Europe that included the G8 summit in Germany. (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri, Pool)

"We didn't talk about just war," Bush said in a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during a swing through Europe.

"He was concerned that the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion. ... He's worrisome about the Christians inside Iraq being mistreated by the Muslim majority."

Bush met with the prime minister several hours after seeing the pope. The two men, meeting each other for the first time, appeared intent to look beyond their differences in Iraq. The pope, in his Easter message, had denounced the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and said that "nothing positive" is happening.

Bush said his meeting with the pope, in which the president stressed his record in fighting AIDS and supporting other humanitarian causes, was a "moving experience."

"I was talking to a very smart, loving man," Bush said.

On an issue back home, Bush said his decision to replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reflected the Democratic-led Congress' opposition to the war in Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that bitter divisions over the Iraq war on Capitol Hill led the Bush administration to replace Pace Adm. Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations.

"Pete Pace is a fine man and a great general and I think the fact that Secretary Gates made the recommendation not to move forward with a renomination speaks to the U.S. Congress and the climate in the U.S. Congress," Bush said.

Bush arrived in Rome Friday night, after a stop in the Czech Republic, three days at a summit of industrialized democracies on Germany's northern coast, and a four-hour visit to Poland. The president stays in Rome Saturday night before going on to Albania and Bulgaria.

Prodi described his talks with Bush as "friendly." He said they discussed China, Africa, climate change and poverty, Kosovo, Lebanon and Afghanistan, among other issues. He said more work needs to be done to try to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Italian leader said the two nations don't have any serious bilateral problems, and share the same views on many issues. "We basically agree on how the future of the world should look, should be," Prodi said.

Bush thanked Italy for its leadership in supporting the fragile western-backed government in Lebanon and also for its commitment in Afghanistan.

"These people are desperate to work in a free society," Bush said, adding that he shared Prodi's concerns that the problems required more than a military solution.

Bush apologized for disrupting traffic as his motorcade moved through Rome, but stressed that U.S.-Italy relations were "pretty darn solid."

Bush also plans to meet with Silvio Berlusconi. Prodi ousted Berlusconi a year ago, replacing a like-minded conservative and staunch ally of Bush's with a center-left leader whose government has spared Washington no criticism.

"He is the opposition leader and he is a friend," Bush said, explaining his decision to visit with Berlusconi while he was in Rome. Bush said Prodi didn't "blame" the president for stopping to chat with his predecessor.