Bush and the Pope get on well

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World News Analyst Jesús Torquemada. Photo: EiTB

Bush is not Catholic but Methodist; that is, he is a Christian, but protestant of a church which does not recognise the authority of the Pope of Rome. However, Bush has great respect for the Pope, and more precisely for this Pontiff, Benedict XVI, with whom he has many ideological coincidences.

Both Bush and the Pope are opposed to marriage among homosexual people abortion, euthanasia and scientific research with the so called mother cells.

Previous Pope John Paul II also agreed with all this, but disagreed on Pope’s opposition against Iraq’s invasion. Ratzinger has not needed to get involved in this subject too much, because the war had started long ago when he became Pope.

Because of this, Bush has warmly welcomed the Pope. However, for Benedict XVI the trip to the United States is not so easy. He has to repair the damage caused to the American catholic church by the cases of sexual abuse of children.

In the United States it is usual that people change churches, and they have plenty to choose. Catholics are the main, around 70 million people, but all Protestant churches come to double faithfuls and are provided with a large amount of radios and televisions. The tele-preacher phenomena has come up around them, who has a lot of influence in social and political life of the United States.

So that the main objective of the Pope in this trip has to be to restore Catholic church to prevent faithful escape towards Protestant churches.