President Obama and Pope Benedict to Meet at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY - A Vatican spokesman says Pope Benedict XVI and President Barack Obama will hold a much-anticipated meeting at the Vatican on July 10.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday the Vatican has nformed the White House that the pope is available to meet the resident that afternoon.

The meeting will be at the end of Obama’s stay in Italy for a G-8 summit.

Such meetings in the afternoon are unusual for the tradition-conscious Vatican.

It is a sign of Benedict’s interest in meeting the new American president despite his support for abortion rights and stem-cell research, which the Vatican opposes.

The Vatican has been seeking common ground with Obama, although some American Catholic bishops have been hostile to his administration.