Collins, Sister Norberta to dine in D.C. with pope

Bangor Daily News- BANGOR, Maine - Sen. Susan Collins wasn’t invited to a White House dinner with Pope Benedict XVI during his first visit to the United States this week even though she’ll be there earlier in the day to welcome him.

"One of my Catholic colleagues in the Senate has been giving me a really hard time about it," Collins said Saturday in Bangor. "It turns out, I’m the one who will be having dinner with the pope."

The White House announced Friday that the pontiff would not attend the dinner that had been planned in his honor. Instead, he will dine at the Italian Embassy.

Maine’s junior Republican senator was invited to that dinner to be held Wednesday. She was allowed to invite one guest. Collins asked Sister Mary Norberta, president of St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, to accompany her... Read more >>