More on Prince of Wales' private audience with Pope Benedict XVI

Some background on the Prince of Wales’ private audience with Pope Benedict XVI that didn’t get reported:

Yesterday’s audience was brief – only 15 minutes – but the two found plenty to talk about. Environmental issues figured high up on the list of topics. The Prince spoke about his Amazon Rainforest Project, and they even broached the possibility of collaborating on some environmental programmes there.

They then went on to discuss the Holy Father’s upcoming visit to the Holy Land, and interreligious dialogue - a subject also of interest to the heir to the throne. The Prince recalled a fairly recent visit he made to Egypt when he visited Al Azhar University – regarded as the pre-eminent institute of learning in the Muslim world, the closest thing Islam has to the Vatican.

They then went on to speak about the liturgy. That seems to have surprised everyone as few know about the Prince's interest in this area. Apparently, they both decided there was plenty of scope to collaborate on the issue.

Contrary to press reports ahead of the meeting, both the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall were received by the Pope together rather than separately. This was for protocol reasons: the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met John Paul II in 2000 together, and so did Prince Charles and Lady Diana when they met John Paul in 1995.

Some have said it showed the Holy Father was loosening his views on divorce, but this is “nonsense” according to officials. Because their marital status is recognised by their own Anglican church, it’s not a protocol issue.

While the Prince talked with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, and the Vatican’s ‘Foreign Minister’, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Duchess was taken on a private tour of Vatican which included a visit to the Sistine chapel.

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Meanwhile, I've been told that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was invited to speak at one of the Pontifical Academies, most probably for Social Sciences. The event was scheduled for a date in May, but it’s believed it’s not now going ahead for reasons unclear. His wife, Cherie, spoke at the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences a few years ago, as well as more recently at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.