UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

President Obama will finally meet Pope Francis on March 27, over a year after Francis’ unexpected election. “The president looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality,” the White House indicated. Surprisingly, Francis has already met with Russia’s leader, with whom Obama currently has tensions over Syria and US wiretapping, among other matters.

As to the overall importance of poverty and inequality, the world’s richest 85 people control the same amount of wealth as half the world’s population, as recently reported by the anti-poverty charity Oxfam. That means the world’s poorest 3.55 billion people must live on what the richest 85 possess.

Given (1) their similar advocacy for the poor, (2) the key role of family planning on alleviating poverty, and (3) their differences on contraception morality matters, Obama and Francis have much to discuss….