Will The President and Pope Butt Heads?

President Bush's policies on the topic of stem cells much appeased the Vatican as he restricted Federal funding on embryonic stem cell research in 2001. The order limited federal funding to using only stem-cell lines that were available at that time effectively stopping any new embryos from being used. Twice in both 2005 and 2007, Congress passed legislation to reverse the order but could not rally enough votes to override the president's veto.

Throughout his presidency Bush met with the Pope 6 times, more than any other president has. The good relationship President Bush has maintained between the U..S and the Pope though may soon be in for a change. With President-elect Barack Obama taking the White House this January it seems inevitable that the U.S and the Vatican are in for a falling out.

Obama's policy's regarding bioethics such as stem cell research are in direct opposition to the Vatican's stance on those issues. Yet observers agree that both the Vatican and the White House have strong incentives to avoid any conflicts that may arise.

Things got off on a good start when the day after Obama's election the Pope sent a telegram to Obama, noting the "historic" nature of his victory and assuring him of his prayers that God would "sustain you and the beloved American people in your efforts ... to build a world of peace, solidarity and justice."

A week later Obama called the to thank him for the telegram.

Even with the seemingly cordial relationship it is still to be seen as to how the two sides will deal with the obvious differences in their beliefs. The Vatican sees it as preposterous to allow the use of a human embryo for medical research and believes that the destruction of that embryo is the equivalent of taking a human life. They support the research on stem cells provided there is no use of human embryos. While here in the US it is projected that we will soon see an end to the ban on stem cell research that was put in place by President Bush.

I hop that President Obama and the Pope are somehow able to maintain a civil relationship even through their differences. It is not probable that any President would share the exact views as the Vatican on every issue to begin with and when it comes to health care, education and avoiding confrontation Obama and the Pope see eye to eye. It seems to me though that even with the efforts on both sides the U.S and the Vatican's god relationship will probably dwindle over the following years because of their differences on bioethics.