Bottler's US oddyssey upstaged by Pope's pledge to exclude child abusers from the priesthood

IT was always going to be the case that if Gordon Brown wanted to up his profile with the Americans during his visit to the United States, he would have to hope it was a slack news day.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Through some crass piece of scheduling, the Prime Minister is having to compete for attention with Pope Benedict XVI, who was met off his plane in Washington DC yesterday by President Bush and his wife Laura.

Pope Benedict hit the headlines by declaring en route that he was "deeply ashamed" of the sexual abuse scandal that had blackened the Roman Catholic Church's reputation in the USA.

A White House reception is being hosted by the President for 2,000 Roman Catholics and the fact that 63million Catholics live in the States, and make up nearly a quarter of the electorate, accounts for why the Democrats and Republicans are fawning all over them in this election year.

Still Bottler didn't go to the USA this week, accompanied by the Westminster elite press corps, to remain silent. At the start his three-day official visit today, the Prime Minister appeared on the ABC network's Good Morning America show to declare: "The relationship between Britain and America is strong but it will be stronger in the years to come."

Hoorah! "It is a very special relationship, very special partnership, of peoples as well as governments. I think whoever is President, Britain and America will work ever more closely together."

Nicely neutral, Bottler.

As for the Pope He told Americans that he was reviewing candidates for the priesthood, aiming to exclude those with a tendency to molest children. How that's going to work - "Do you molest children?" "No" "That's alright then, you can be a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston" - is something only God's vicar on earth knows.