German chancellor meets with pope at Castel Gandolfo

Published: 2006-08-28

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- With Pope Benedict XVI scheduled to visit his native Germany Sept. 9-14, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with him at the papal summer residence outside Rome. In a 40-minute private audience Aug. 28, the two leaders discussed the events unfolding in the Middle East, freedom of religion and the world community's stance on Iran's nuclear program, the chancellor told journalists after the meeting. She said she was greatly pleased to visit the pope, this time as head of the German government. She last met with him in August 2005 as part of the World Youth Day events in Cologne, Germany, when she was head of the country's largest conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union. She was elected later that year as the first female chancellor of Germany. Merkel told journalists she had wanted to visit the pope before he set off for Germany. The pope was set to meet the chancellor again upon his arrival Sept. 9 in the Bavarian capital of Munich.

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