It seems that American president George W. Bush made another gaffe:
US President George W Bush drew gasps at the Vatican on Saturday by referring to Pope Benedict XVI as “sir” instead of the expected “His Holiness”, pool reporters said.
They could clearly hear the US leader say “Yes, sir” when the pope asked him if he was going to meet with officials of the lay Catholic Sant’Egidio community at the US embassy later during his visit.
James Joyner defends Bush by writing, “Bush isn’t Catholic. He’s the leader of the dominant country on the planet. Aside from the age gap, it’s rather remarkable that he’s addressing the pope as ‘Sir.’ Why on earth should he address him in the third person, let alone pretend that he considers him ‘holy’?”
Let me answer that question: manners.
When one meets the Dalai Lama, for instance, one has refer to him as “Your Holiness.” Now, I am not a Buddhist, so I do not for one second believe that the Dalai Lama is holy, but I would refer to him as “Your Holiness,” if I will ever have the pleasure to meet him, nonetheless.
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