Pope Benedict Thanks Bush For Defending Moral Values

President Bush continued his silent tour across Europe today.
There were no protesters in Germeny.
In Rome only 1,000 communists, Leftists, and anarchists showed up yesterday.
Today the Romans gathered on the street to watch as he drove by.
And, the pope thanked him for his moral values.

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) walks with Pope Benedict XVI through the gardens of the Lourdes Grotto at the Vatican June 13, 2008. Pope Benedict gave Bush an unprecedented welcome in the tranquillity of the Vatican Gardens on Friday before the U.S. president resumed his campaign to rally European support for sanctions against Iran. (REUTERS/Filippo Monteforte)

Today Pope Benedict thanked Bush for his strong moral values.
AKI reported:

Pope Benedict XVI personally thanked US President George W. Bush on Friday for his defence of "fundamental moral values".

The pontiff expressed his gratitude "for the warm and exceptional welcome he had received in the United States of America and at the White House during his visit there in April, and for the president's commitment in defence of fundamental moral values".

Details of Benedict's meeting with Bush were included in a statement released by the Vatican after the meeting on Friday morning.

The pontiff greeted Bush, who was accompanied by his wife Laura and by Mary Ann Glendon, the US Ambassador to the Holy See, at the Medieval St. John's Tower located in the Vatican Gardens.

Do you suppose freeing 50 million people from two brutal regimes has anything to do with today's blessing?

Pope Benedict XVI honored President Bush with a special reception today.

U.S. President George W. Bush (R), Pope Benedict XVI and first lady Laura Bush applaud a boy's choir as they visit the Lourdes Grotto at the Vatican June 13, 2008. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)

The leader of the free world was given a rare glimpse into the medieval St. John's Tower and a walk through the Vatican Gardens.
The AFP reported:

US President George W. Bush arrived on Friday for a special audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who is returning the hospitality he enjoyed at the White House in April.

Swiss Guards in their striped regalia stood to attention as Bush stepped out of a black limousine with his wife Laura and was warmly greeted by the head of the Roman Catholic Church outside the medieval St John's Tower.

The US leader could be heard exclaiming "what an honour" as he clasped the pontiff's hands in his.

US Ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon, a Catholic, kissed the pontiff's hand.

Bush and the pope then went into a tete-a-tete in the tower, a venue reserved for illustrious guests instead of the usual site for papal audiences, the pontiff's private library.

The two, who also met at the Vatican last year, were later to stroll in the secluded Vatican Gardens.

Benedict's trip to the United States coincided with his 81st birthday, which he celebrated in grand style at the White House on April 16, when he was greeted with a 21-gun salute and some 13,500 well-wishers filled the South Lawn.

Bush "is a huge fan of the pope and has full respect for him," White House chief of protocol Nancy Goodman Brinker said.

The US leader "fully supports the (Catholic) Church and fully supports everything this pope is trying to do on behalf of peace, education and hunger in cooperation with world political leaders," she told the ANSA news agency.

An eerie quiet is following Bush through Europe this week.
Judith Apter Klinghoffer reports on this strange reaction from the Europeans.
(This post was updated and bumped.)