FRANCE:FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy talked more about religion than politics; Pope Benedict XVI more about politics than religion. But it didn't matter. When the two leaders met yesterday, they were singing from the same hymn sheet.
It was Sarkozy who insisted that Benedict XVI stop in Paris on his pilgrimage to Lourdes for the 150th jubilee of the Blessed Virgin's apparitions.
Nine months ago, in a speech at the Lateran Church of Saint John in Rome, Sarkozy announced a new policy of "positive secularism". His invitation to the pope was one of the first concrete manifestations of his redefinition of France's separation of church and state.
As they strode up the red carpet into the Élysée Palace, Sarkozy made an almost visible effort to restrain his back-slapping, arm-grazing hand; he'd been criticised for touching His Holiness last year in the Vatican.
French journalists remarked on Benedict's bright red shoes, and the fact he didn't kiss the ground at Orly airport, as John Paul II did.
"Very Holy Father," Sarkozy said at least a dozen times. He tactfully omitted to read a sentence about the more popular John Paul II.
The "dialogue between faith and reason has occupied a preponderant place" in the pope's "theological journey", Sarkozy noted. He called for a dialogue between democracy and religion, "in particular the Christian religion, with which we share a long history . . . That is why I renew my appeal for positive secularism".
Sarkozy defined "positive secularism" as "the quest for meaning, the respect of beliefs".
France recognises her "Christian roots", he said. "The quest for spirituality is not a danger for democracy, not a danger for secularism." The French president espoused the church's social doctrine of "improving the situation for the greatest number" - a strange assertion for a leader who has given huge tax cuts to the rich - and advocated giving religious leaders a role in the debate on bio-ethics.
Referring to the pope's trip to Lourdes today, he said: "One often goes there in the hope of healing the body, and returns with a healed heart and soul."
In his response to Sarkozy, the pope noted that "from its origins, your country received the message of the Gospel . . . The city of Lyons already had a bishop in the middle of the 2nd century."
The church "played a civilising role" in France, as shown by "thousands of chapels, churches, abbeys and cathedrals".
Broaching the subject of church and state, the pope quoted the Gospel - "Render unto Caesar . . ." - and noted that relations between the French government and hierarchy have evolved into a "positive, serene dialogue". (Such was not always the case; the deputies who voted for the 1905 law on the separation of church and state were excommunicated.)
The pope congratulated Sarkozy for coining the term "positive secularism". He went on to suggest the French president work for human and religious rights during his EU presidency.
In an apparent allusion to Sarkozy's peace-making efforts in Georgia and Syria, he said that France, "historically sensitive to reconciliation between peoples, is called upon to help Europe build peace . . ." It was important for Europe to "promote unity that cannot be uniformity", but whose diversity "constitutes the richness of the European symphony".
After meeting with Jewish leaders before their Sabbath, the pope delivered a lecture to "representatives of French culture" who included the former presidents Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac, many former ministers and television personalities.
Anyone who expected a scolding over pop culture was sorely disappointed. Seated in a gilt armchair before an olive tree, this was Benedict XVI, theologian.
Taking his cue from the newly restored 13th century Collège des Bernardins, the pope said the roots of European culture lie in monastic life.
Medieval monks found that "the search for God demands a culture of the word . . . The longing for God includes love of the word, exploration of all its dimensions."
The pope explained how the search for God "gave rise to the great tradition of Western music".
Manual labour was also an important part of the monastic tradition, "without which the emergence of Europe, its ethos and its influence on the world would be unthinkable". Not only was the search for God the foundation of European culture, he concluded, it "remains today the basis of any genuine culture".
Leaders of France's Muslim community were among the first to greet the pope after the lecture. It was exactly two years to the day since his Regensburg speech, in which he offended many Muslims by quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said Mohamed brought "things only evil and inhuman".
All seems to have been forgiven.
Ensconced in the bullet-proof Popemobile, the pope then plied the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter, en route for Vespers in Notre Dame Cathedral. An adoring crowd shouted "Viva il Papa" and "Benedetto, Benedetto". The pope waved and beamed a beatific smile.