“New American gospel”?

That’s what this Time article claims President Obama is better able to spread to the world after his meeting with Pope Benedict at the Vatican.

From the article:

Benedict, who doesn’t have the same instincts in world diplomacy as Pope John Paul II and has had some notable verbal missteps, has a new opportunity with a like-minded Obama Administration to have more of a say on a vast array of foreign policy challenges. Among other issues touched upon was the West’s relations with Islam, and the White House noted that they spoke about Obama’s recent speech in Cairo directed at the Muslim world.

Still, beyond the private talk, Obama’s visit to the Vatican — in which the President’s wife and daughters also got a private tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel — is one of the key encounters of his first year in office. It gives him the chance not only to solidify support from U.S. Catholic voters at home but also to spread his new American gospel to the world.

A key encounter, no question. Time should leave it at that.