Yesterday the Vatican confirmed that President Obama will be meeting with the pope on a trip to Italy next month:

The meeting, set for the afternoon of July 10, will be the first between the Pontiff and the new president.

Obama's Vatican visit will take place within the context of his participation in the Group of Eight summit, which will be held July 8-10 in L'Aquila, Italy.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said to reporters today that "Benedict XVI is open to receive the president of the United States during the afternoon of July 10."

The decision to set the meeting for the afternoon, which breaks protocol for papal audiences, is due to the president's tight schedule.

This seems straightforward enough -- which is why I was surprised to read the following from Michael Sean Winters at the America blog:

Let the gnashing of teeth begin.

Admit it, wasn’t your first impulse to call Dr. Mary Ann Glendon and ask, "If you were still the ambassador, would you show up or would you boycott?" The Cardinal Newman Society, which spent the better part of the spring telling the world that no Catholic could in good conscience share the stage with President Obama, perhaps now they will start issuing press releases entitled "Pope Creates Scandal" or "Outrage at the Vatican." The Catholic News Agency, which featured the headline "Vatican announces Pope’s vacation without confirmation of Obama visit" just a few weeks ago, has nary a mention of the visit on its website this morning. Cat got your tongue?

I can't speak for CNS or CNA, but I'm at a loss to see why this news should be shocking to anyone. The pope and president routinely receive heads of state, and often from those with whom they have disagreements -- but never has it been implied that such visits constitute "honors" or "platforms," per the USCCB's guidelines. It's simply statesmanship and hospitality.

Meanwhile, Obama was given an honorary degree in law at Notre Dame -- a field in which he has done much to advance abortion-rights legislation. Even if one thinks such an event was acceptable, it seems a willful sort of blindness to deny that there is any difference between a public celebration of one man's particular career and a private meeting between equals.

I'm glad that Obama is meeting with the pope -- if anyone has the potential to reach the president on the issue of the sanctity of life, Benedict certainly tops the list. It's an opportunity that all Catholics can be glad of, while praying for its success.