Pope invited to address European Parliament

The president of the European Parliament today met with Pope Benedict XVI and invited the pontiff to address a plenary session of the legislature.

No date was announced for any possible visit to the European Union’s parliament, which meets in Strasbourg, France.

The Vatican gave no details about the talks between Benedict and Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering.

Poettering’s office said the talks centred on dialogue between religions and cultures, including the role religions can play in dialogue based on truth and tolerance.

“I invited him and I would be pleased if he came,” Poettering told reporters about the invitation to Benedict.

“During the audience, we spoke about the question of citing the Judeo-Christian roots of Europe in the constitutional treaty, of the future of the EU, and of the problems of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue,” Poettering told reporters at a gathering of European bishops.