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ROME (AP) - President Bush says he'll "be in listening mode" when he meets Pope Benedict XVI for the first time on Saturday. It's a good thing, because the Pope has a lot to say.
Benedict will discuss the Iraq war and the plight of Christians in that unstable, violence-wracked country, as well as "the big ethical and social questions" of the day, said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's No. 2. This includes praise for Bush's staunch opposition to abortion.
But there's concern about the war, vigorously opposed by the late Pope John Paul II and raised on occasion by Benedict. In his Easter message, Benedict said "nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."
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