It's official: President Obama will have his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on July 10, while in Italy attending a G8 summit. While Obama's May appearance at the University of Notre Dame has strained his relationship with many U.S. bishops, Rome has been more conciliatory toward his administration.

For Obama, his first papal sit-down probably couldn't have been better timed; it comes shortly after the long-scheduled release of Benedict's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth), which he says will focus on "the extensive issue of the economy and labor." Encyclicals are letters from the pope to the Roman Catholic hierarchy on key church matters.

If Benedict's encyclical argues that moral shortcomings precipitated the world economic crisis, as seems likely to be the case, it could line up with Obama's own interpretation of the recession. The president outlined his views on how the abrogation of values led to the financial crisis in his commencement address at Arizona State University:

The economy remains in the midst of a historic recession, the result, in part, of greed and irresponsibility that rippled out from Wall Street and Washington, as we spent beyond our means and failed to make hard choices. . . .

In the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas for success that have dominated these recent years. Many of you have been taught to chase after the usual brass rings: being on this "who's who" list or that top 100 list; how much money you make and how big your corner office is; whether you have a fancy enough title or a nice enough car.

You can take that road—and it may work for some of you. But at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you want to go; that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character, short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.

I want to highlight two main problems with that old approach. First, it distracts you from what is truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values, principles and commitments. Think about it. . . . It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that come with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street.