Pope refuses to meet Rice

Frankly, though I don't trouble myself to think about it much, I haven't had particularly good feelings about the (relatively) new Pope - Benedict XVI, but this improves his image in my mind:

Pope Benedict XVI refused to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in August, saying he was on holiday, an Italian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Rice "made it known to the Vatican that she absolutely had to meet the pope" to boost her diplomatic "credit" ahead of a trip to the Middle East, the Corriere della Sera daily reported without citing its sources.