VATICAN CORNER
Under Pope Francis, more than ever before, the Vatican has adopted an open door policy regarding politicians, rock stars and famous people who want to meet with him, regardless of their history or personal religious beliefs. An example is the 2016 meeting of Pope Francis with former president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his wife Carla Bruni.-Sarkozy. In 2010 when Benedict XVI was Pope, Mrs. Sarkozy, a former model who was sometimes photographed nude, was told she was not welcome at the Vatican. Another example is the hour long meeting Cuba’s infamous dictator Raul Castro, brother of Fidel, was able to obtain with Francis at the Vatican. For better or worse, Pope Francis has become somewhat of a pop star, and politicians and celebrities clamor for a meeting, a blessing or even just a wave from him. The reasons why they want to meet the Pope are as complex as the people themselves. Some celebrities are looking to talk to the Pope about issues or causes of particular interest to them. This is particularly true of world leaders who treat the Pope as another head of state. Some celebrities have their own special, charitable projects, and an audience with the Pope may help boost the view of those charities, giving them more importance and additional publicity. The famous rock star Bono met with Pope John II in 1999 in an effort to ask the wealthy countries of the world to cancel the debt of third-world nations. Director Angelina Jolie met with Pope Francis to screen her faith based movie Unbroken in 2015 and to get some press coverage. Others celebrities and politicians who meet with the Pope are deeply faithful Catholics themselves and to meet with their spiritual leader is a big deal. In the last couple of years, a very many world leader have come to the Vatican and met with Francis, and some celebrities include: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Hawking, Mark Zuckerberg, George Clooney and wife Amal, Andrea Bocelli, Tim Cook, Joseph Fiennes, Lionel Messi, Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria, Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio. Recently President Donald Trump met with Pope Francis and that was the continuation of a tradition started with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1950. Eisenhower wasn’t the first US president to meet the Pope, but each president has done so since then. The Catholic Church has become the largest religious denomination in the US, with over 78 million members, and it makes sense to keep relations between the White House and the Holy See as neighborly as possible. Whatever motivates someone to meet the Pope, perhaps the real reason can run far deeper than they even realize. It might not be just to meet an admirable man, but to touch someone so close to God on earth.
Sources: catholicnewsagency.com, aleteia.org, biography.com