Pope Not Petty

Perhaps you've seen the story floating around that B-16 snubbed Condi Rice when she tried to meet with him? I expect such nonsense from the MSM, but I've seen it on Catholic blogs too. C'mon, people, you really think this Pope has a bone in his body capable of childish rudeness? That says more about you than about him. Zadok helpfully digs up the news story from early last year I recalled but didn't have time to find:

The Vatican has sharply cut back the number of political audiences to prevent the Pope being exploited by visiting politicians looking for headlines.

From now on, only heads of government and heads of state will be granted an audience with the pontiff.

A set of tough new rules has been drafted to protect 79-year-old Pope Benedict XVI from the flood of requests that arrive daily.

Bah.

Update: As a nail in the coffin of the rumor that the Pope's not meeting with Rice signaled disapproval of US foreign policy, here's what the Vatican had to say about it.

It was a purely technical question of protocol," an informed Vatican source told Catholic News Service Sept. 20.

The source said it was "absolutely not" the Vatican's intention to rebuff Rice or signal disagreement with U.S. policy on the Middle East.

Moreover:

Rice instead ended up speaking by telephone with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, while he was visiting the United States in August.

Cardinal Bertone later praised Rice's mediating attempts, saying, "I recognize the untiring efforts of the secretary of state in reconciliation among the governments of the Middle East."

So There.