US:THOUSANDS OF well-wishers sang "Happy Birthday" to Pope Benedict XVI on the South Lawn of the White House at the start of his first visit to the United States since he succeeded John Paul II three years ago.
The crowd of 9,000 was the biggest to assemble in the White House during George Bush's presidency but thousands more lined the streets outside, waving the yellow and white Vatican flag as they waited for a glimpse of the 81-year-old pope.
Mr Bush said the US was a nation of prayer and compassion but he added that the country needed to hear the pope's message of respect for human life.
"In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred, and that 'each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary'," the president said.
"In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this 'dictatorship of relativism', and embrace a culture of justice and truth."
The pope said he wanted his visit to bring "hope and renewal" to American Catholics, who have been rocked by a massive clerical sex abuse scandal.
More than 4000 priests have faced allegations of abusing children and the Catholic Church in the US has already agreed to pay more than $2 billion in compensation to their victims.
The pope is expected to address the child abuse issue in New York on Saturday but at the White House yesterday he spoke about the responsibility freedom brings.
"Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience - almost every town in this country has its monuments honouring those who sacrificed their lives in defence of freedom, both at home and abroad," he said.
"The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good, and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate.
"It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one's deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate."
After the reception on the South Lawn, the pope and the president held private talks in the Oval Office, during which they discussed their shared opposition to abortion and gay marriage rights, as well as the Middle East and US immigration policy.