Pope Benedict meets US First Lady Laura Bush

Feb 9, 2006, 12:36 GMT

Vatican City - US First Lady Laura Bush met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Thursday on her way to Turin for Friday's visit of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Donning an elegant black suit and a laced veil, Bush was accompanied by her daughter Barbara and the US Ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Rooney, the Ansa news agency reported.

Pope Benedict and Laura Bush held a 15-minute exchange, at the end of which the pope wished the First Lady a pleasant stay in Turin and asked her to extend his greetings to President George W. Bush.

In a recent interview with an Italian magazine, a leading cardinal praised the common views held by the US and the Vatican on a variety of subjects.

Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said that on subjects like 'the family, marriage, abortion and safe sex' there exists 'an objective harmony between the US administration and the Holy See.' Trujillo said that despite past divisions on the war in Iraq, the Vatican's judgment of the Bush presidency remained positive.

The First Lady was due to meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi before heading to the north of Italy to attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Her presence in Turin was set to strain security operations there amid concerns that anti-globalisation activists were planning to disrupt the ceremony.