Source: USA Today

L'AQUILA, Italy — President Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican Friday for what was described as a frank discussion about issues on which they agree — and disagree.

Obama arrived promptly for the 45-minute afternoon session and was greeted warmly by the Holy Father, despite their opposite views on some issues such as abortion and stem cell research.

"Thank you so much. It's a great honor," Obama said upon shaking the pope's hand. After their private meeting, Obama introduced the pope to his wife, Michelle, and top staff members.

The first lady wore a black dress and shawl. As the meeting got underway in the Papal Library and cameras clicked away, Obama said, "You must be used to having your picture taken."

The pope nodded, and then the president remarked, "I am still getting used to it."

"You must be getting tired," the pope said.

Obama mentioned the $20 billion in agricultural aid for developing nations that was agreed upon by the Group of 8 as it concluded its three-day summit here. The president called it "great progress, something concrete."

At the conclusion of the meeting, Obama was heard telling the pope that he looks forward to a continuing relationship. Then he was off to the airport for his trip to Ghana, which will mark his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president.

Earlier Obama took a swipe at the United Nations and other international organizations as he left a three-day Group of 8 summit that he acknowledged "did not reach agreement on every issue."

While lauding progress on several fronts, including the agricultural aid, the president said groups like the G-8 and U.N. must be reinvigorated to reflect a changing world with multiple power centers.

"There is no doubt that we have to update and refresh and renew the international institutions that were set up in a different time and place," Obama said in his closing press conference.

Singling out the U.N., Obama said, "When it comes to big, tough problems, the United Nations General Assembly is not always working as effectively and rapidly as it needs to."

He mentioned the Rwandan genocide as an example.

One problem, Obama said, is that international organizations have become large and unwieldy. This week's meeting, technically of the U.S., Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, at times involved about 40 nations and international groups.

"Everyone wants the smallest possible organization that includes them," the president quipped.

He denied that the G-8 had tried and failed to place sanctions on Iran for its crackdown on election protesters, instead settling on a declaration condemning those actions as well as Iran's nuclear weapons program.

"What we wanted was exactly what we got," Obama said. "The real story here was consensus in that statement, including Russia, which doesn't make statements like that lightly."

In addition, Obama said, the G-8 made clear time is running short for Iran to change its ways.

"The international community has said, 'Here's a door you can walk through,'" he said. "If Iran chooses not to walk through that door, then you have on record the G-8 to begin with, but I think potentially a lot of other countries, that are going to say we need to take further steps."

Heralding this morning's victory on food aid for developing nations, Obama recounted a story he told his colleagues in a closed meeting about his Kenyan roots.

"This is something that I understand in very personal terms," he said.

His father came to the United States 50 years ago, he said, "yet now I have family members ... who live in villages where hunger is real."

He said African nations must do more to combat bribery and corruption and improve their systems of governance in order to provide for themselves.

On other issues:

• The president hailed agreements on nuclear non-proliferation, including his colleagues' agreement to attend a nuclear security summit in Washington in March. He said he was confident that a framework can be found "that works for all countries (so) when we are speaking to Iran and North Korea, it's not a matter of singling them out."

• On the economy, Obama said leaders agreed that "full recovery is still a ways off," and it's too soon to begin winding down stimulus efforts.

In Ghana, officials expect a tumultuous reception for Obama, whose father was from Kenya.

The first family arrived in Ghana on Friday afternoon. The main ceremony in Accra will occur Saturday before he departs for Washington and after a week-long trip that started in Russia.

It will involve drumming performances and Ghanians "putting their best foot forward in terms of the cultural richness of an incredibly diverse country," White House adviser Michelle Gavin told reporters Thursday. To help accommodate the many who cannot attend, U.S. and Ghanian officials have scheduled "watch parties," radio broadcasts and video coverage in theaters, parks and other places.

"I do not believe that there is a way in which we could ever fulfill or assuage the desires of those in Ghana or on the continent on one stop," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

He will become the third straight U.S. president to visit Ghana, a relatively stable democracy in a continent wracked by poverty and heavy-handed governments. But he is the first such president of African descent.

Obama chose Ghana, Gavin said, "because it's such an admirable example of strong, democratic governance, vibrant civil society." There's much to admire, she said, and to hold up as "a counter to what one often hears about Africa."

On Saturday, Obama will meet with Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, and address the nation's parliament.