US President George W Bush drew gasps at the Vatican on Saturday by referring to Pope Benedict XVI as “sir” instead of the expected “His Holiness”, pool reporters said.

They could clearly hear the US leader say “Yes, sir” when the pope asked him if he was going to meet with officials of the lay Catholic Sant’Egidio community at the US embassy later during his visit

First: Saying “yes, sir” as a positive response is as natural to a Texan as breathing in and breathing out.

Second: Nobody who is not Catholic should be expected to address the Pope with any honorific beyond “sir”. It’s a perfectly appropriate way to talk to any man in the world. I, for one, have no plans to call anybody “Your Highness” nor “Your Majesty”, either.