Canadian PM has papal audience

VATICAN CITY, July 11 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an evangelical Protestant, had an audience Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

The pope and Harper, who came to Rome after attending the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, spent about half an hour in private discussions, Canwest News Service reported. They were then joined briefly by Harper's wife, Laureen, and the couple's two children.

The prime minister also met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state.

"It was an honor to meet Pope Benedict and hear his perspective on a number of important issues, including human rights and an ethical response to the global economic crisis," Harper said in a statement.

The two men exchanged gifts. Harper received a pen modeled after one of the pillars of the high altar in St. Peter's Basilica, and he gave the pope a pink vase.

Catholic votes helped Harper's Conservative Party in 2006, when the Conservatives won the most parliamentary seats but failed to achieve a majority.