The US president, Barack Obama, met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time yesterday for a brief, but frank discussion on issues they hold common beliefs on, such as peace in the Middle East, as well as those which divide them, such as abortion and stem cells.
During the 40-minute meeting, Mr Obama told the Pope, the spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, that he wanted to reduce the number of abortions in the United States, the Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told reporters after Mr Obama had left.
Mr Lombardi said the Pope was "very impressed" by Mr Obama and that the Pontiff was "extremely satisfied" with the talks.
But in a surprise move, the Pope gave Mr Obama, who last March lifted restrictions of federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, a copy of a recent Vatican document on bioethics in which the Holy See explains its opposition to such practices. Dignitas Personae (dignity of a person) condemns artificial fertilisation and other techniques used by many couples and also says human cloning, "designer babies" and embryonic stem-cell research were immoral.
Mr Obama quipped that he would "have something to read" on board Air Force One as he flew to Ghana for the final leg of his weeklong tour. The US president arrived from L'Aquila, the Italian city that hosted the three-day G8 summit, and was greeted by an honour guard of the Swiss Guard as he walked into the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
For security reasons, the Italian authorities cordoned off roads around the Vatican City and mobile phone coverage was blocked as the presidential motorcade swept through.
The Pope chatted with the president in front of cameras at the papal library, with Mr Obama saying it was "a great honour" to meet the Pontiff, before the two went into closed-door talks.
As well as discussing controversial issues, the Pope and Mr Obama discussed their "shared desire" for Middle East peace, an aide said. Mr Obama "expressed appreciation for the long-standing effort of the Holy See and the Pope himself in promoting" a Middle East solution said Denis McDonough, the deputy security adviser, told reporters aboard the president's plane. During a visit to the West Bank in May, the Pope had outlined his support for a two-state solution.
The US president told the Pontiff that "all sides have responsibilities in this effort" and vowed to continue delivering that message, Mr McDonough said. Mr Obama also "expressed his hope that the holy father would continue to do that as well, including responsibilities that we believe are important, not just from Israelis but also from the neighbouring Arab states".
The Vatican last month praised Mr Obama for his speech to the world's Muslims in Cairo as a "significant" step towards improving interfaith relations.
At the end of Mr Obama's meeting with the Pontiff, gifts were exchanged and the pair were joined by the president's wife, Michelle. Mrs Obama earlier had visited the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.
The Pope broke with normal practice to send Mr Obama a personal note of congratulations after the November presidential election in which the Democrat received a majority of votes cast by the 60 million Roman Catholics in the US.
Since taking office, however, Mr Obama has lifted a ban on government funding for embryonic stem-cell research and for family planning groups that support abortion, to the dismay of some American Catholics.
There have also been difficulties over the appointment of the new administration's ambassador to the Holy See, with news reports in April suggesting the Vatican rejected at least three candidates proposed informally by US officials. Among them was said to be Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late John F Kennedy, who along with the others was vetoed because of her support for abortion.
In late May, the White House nominated Miguel Diaz, a Cuban-born professor of theology, although he has yet to receive Senate confirmation.
Since diplomatic relations between the US and the Vatican were established in 1984, the US ambassador has always been an anti-abortion Catholic.
The US president is a Protestant who attended a Catholic school for several years while a child in Indonesia.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Reuters and the Associated Press
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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