Premier Silvio Berlusconi was granted a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Friday for a discussion said to have ranged from state aid to parochial schools to support for the family and immigration.
In accordance with protocol, no details were given on the 40-minute meeting, ten more than had been scheduled, but it was understood that they also reviewed a number of international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and the world food crisis, for which there was a global summit in Rome this week.
Before heading to the Vatican, Berlusconi was interviewed by phone on a morning talk show on Canale 5, the flagship station of his three-network TV empire, and said that ''the pope and his church cannot help but be pleased by the actions of this government''.
''I intend to thank the pontiff for the appreciation he voiced over the new political climate created by our return to government,'' he added,
''We are in favor of the Church, we believe in the values of human dignity and are on the same wavelength as the Church,'' Berlusconi said.
The public part of their meeting at the Vatican was marked by smiles and handshakes, as well as the premier kissing the pope's ring.
Berlusconi gave the pope a gold cross, to be worn on the chest, which was inlaid with diamonds and topaz.
Benedict's gift to the premier was a commemorative pen for the 500th anniversary of St Peter's Basilica.
The premier was accompanied on his visit by Cabinet Secretary Gianni Letta, who later joined him for a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
This was Berlusconi's fourth meeting with a pope as premier. He met twice with the late John Paul II, in 2001 and 2003, and first met with Benedict, formerly Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, in November 2005, seven months after he became pope.
Berlusconi, accompanied by his late mother, also met the pope in June of last year during a general audience he attended.
