Pope meets GMA

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - President Gloria Arroyo met with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, the Vatican said, stressing the "cordial relations" between Manila and the Holy See.

Journalists present said the meeting lasted about 10 minutes.

Arroyo, who met the pope for the first time a year ago, next met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, and the Holy See's "foreign minister," Monsignor Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican said in a statement.

The talks focused on the "political and social situation in Southeast Asia and in particular the respect for and promotion of human rights and democratic institutions in the region," the statement said.

Ahead of the meetings, Arroyo's protocol officer said she wanted to discuss the economic situation in her country, recent legislative elections and violence attributed to death squads that have claimed more than 700 lives since her election in 2004.

The Filipino leader also wanted to invite Benedict to make a stop in her country while en route to or from Australia for the World Youth Days in Australia in July 2008.