In Phone Call, Pope Congratulates Obama

President-elect Barack Obama returned a phone call to Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday after his election to the presidency last week.

Obama phoned the pope “to thank the pope for his telegram, his congratulations” on the election said Rev. Federico Lombardi, chief spokesman for Pope Benedict XVI, in a CathNews article.

Pope Benedict XVI had sent a telegram to Obama last Wednesday, congratulating him on his election as the 44 President of the United States, as well as being the first African American ever elected. The pope also said he would keep Obama and the U.S. in his prayers.

The phone call between the pope and Obama was part of the “normal exchanges” between a new American President and other world leaders, according to a TimesOnline article.

The same day, a senior Vatican official made clear the Holy See would oppose any changes by Obama in U.S. policy on embryonic stem cell research, according to the TimesOnline article. There was no exchange on the issue, however, between the pope and the president elect.

“All of us are hoping that Obama will be able to meet the expectations and hopes directed at him,” said Lombardi in a statement.

Lombardi said he hoped Obama would “work for the cause of rights and justice, finding suitable ways to promote peace in the world, fostering people’s development and dignity while respecting essential human and spiritual values.”

American clerics in the Catholic Church attacked Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, a Roman Catholic, because of his stance on abortion during the campaign. Neither the pope nor Lombardi mentioned Biden in the telegram or phone call.

Biden will become the highest ranking Roman Catholic in American government since former president John F. Kennedy. He will also become the first Catholic vice president in American history.

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