Via CNS:

When Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President George W. Bush meet at the Vatican June 13, they will scrap the usual formal protocol and instead hold talks and take a leisurely stroll in the Vatican Gardens.

The Vatican opted for the “particular” and “unusual” setting as a way to show its appreciation for “the cordial welcome and meeting held at the White House” during the pope’s April 15-20 visit to the United States, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said June 9.

Normally heads of state visiting the pope at the Vatican are taken with much fanfare to the pope’s library in the main Apostolic Palace.

But “in light of the (pope’s) recent pastoral visit to the United States and the United Nations” and for the warm welcome and hospitality shown the pope during his meeting with Bush on the pope’s birthday, April 16, an informal setting at the Vatican was chosen instead, said Father Lombardi.

The Bush Derangement Syndrome sufferers will of course say, “the Vatican realizes that Bush is too dumb for all that pageantry and formality.”  In reality, I can’t tell if this is a snub or if it’s a mark of appreciation and closeness between the two.

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