George to receive the Olive Award from the Pope at the Vatican today 29.5.16

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and in their seats a minute ago........

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minus moustache...... and now being interviewed

Don't know what the Olive Award is but will assume it has to do with promoting peace and humanity ....?

In any case a very nice acknowledgement for our guy!
Congrats to continued good work George

Brilliant isn't it?

Just added a few more tweets to the above post......

Video of what George said........

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What an honor for George .

Corriere della Sera now have a pic of George meeting Pope Francis

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I'm sure it was great to be there. The Pope is said to have a great charisma.

I still don't know much about the Olive Award, have never heard about it before. Is it something every Pope presents? Or an award just Pope Francis launched?

Thanks Annemarie,
I googled 'Olive Award' and got every website connected with olive oil so gave up in the end...

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The web site

excuse me for not getting all excited about George meeting the Pope..;. didn't he say not that long ago that he didn't really believe in God..so it's what, more PR for him
and her?? My thought about it is right up there as when Jerry Weintraub died and he said he and Amal send love and prayers... who was he praying to- Federal Reserve Bank for more money?

I-m not sure if I should reply to this sarcastic post but I'll try:

Last year my mother and my sister went to see the Dalai Lama when he was in Germany. They were deeply touched, amazed and impressed by what he said and how he talked. They both said that he has an amazing aura and charisma. They both are christians, have no connection to buddhism.
Does tgat mean that they shouldn't have gone? 
If I would ever get the chance to meet the pope, I would be thrilled, and I'm not catholic. And George was raised catholic, so if he was asked by the Pope to partizipate, I'm sure George wouldn't deny.

Doesn't mean that because he's an atheist, he can't be given an award by the Pope because of everything he's trying to do in the world. Isn't that what Pope Francis is all about - inclusion irrespective of religion? 

Richard Gere was/is Jewish but practises Buddhism.

George obviously thought it was a massive honour. You only have to look at all the photos and his delight in all of them.

Here he is talking to the Argentinian Minister of Education:

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PP - From what he's said in the past I think he's more an agnostic than an atheist. Maye he's just trying to cover all the bases - just in case. Besides, whatever he believes, being recognized by the Pope like this is an honor (especially for a Catholic - even if he is lapsed!). And yes, if nothing else, it is good publicity.

George and the Pope  very cool . 

Lizzy,
I agree with you! Some of the comments George made are more those of an agnostic than an atheist.

Off topic: There are times when most of us do believe in the existence of a god or somebody with power when we need the intervention... I started praying and believing after my kids were born and we didn't know for months if they would survive... Before that I was a christ because that's how I was raised...

I think George was raised a catholic that is still apart of him no matter what he says.  I also agree he is more agnostic than an atheist.

This ceremony had nothing to to with what religion you were there were Jews there as well as others , the award 
was for appreciation of the things these people have done to help others.

I think George said some time ago in response to a question of what he thought of Pope Francis that he very much thought the Pope was doing good work.  I don't think you have to believe in Catholicism or even God to appreciate the work that Pope Francis has been doing or his message of working together, inclusion and respecting humanity.  George is all about that.  And yes Richard Gere practices Buddhism.  But he accepted the honor.  An honor that transcends religion.  It's about  bringing young people from different backgrounds together through art, sports and technology in an effort of achieving peace, tolerance and understanding

IMO I don't think from George's point of view accepting this honor had anything to do with publicity.  Nor for Gere or Salma. It's a gracious honor to be acknowledged and accepted.

I think if a religious leader in such a high position, like Pope, would only acknowledge, and reward the humanitarian work of people who are catholic, it would be quite narrow minded. IMO the world needs more inclusion, common ground, irregardless of people's individual beliefs. It opens the door for more rewarding and benefiting communication and opens doors for more inclusion.   

George must've felt really honoured.

Definitely, and he's now an ambassador for Scholar Occurentes which I'm sure he'll take pretty seriously

With Pope Francis and Esteban Bullrich, Minister of Education, Argentina:

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Two of my great ambitions.... To attend Mass given by Pope Francis....to have a drink with George Clooney....

I'm very well rounded.....

I don't think we have this video that's included in the article here ....

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Thanks Donna,
well, George's Italian pronounciation really isn't bad at all...

Getting in the lift at the Hassler Hotel

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and a local paper's headline..

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The article you posted is great, PA !
'A couple from Sonning'! I somehow wish they hadn't mentioned their names at all (but then you wouldn't have found the article, I guess)...

PAN - Kind of puts everything into perspective, doesn't it? I'm thinking that's what George has to look forward to in the future. Not sure he'll like it much.

I'd like to think the sub-editor who dreamt up this headline has a bright future at somewhere like the Mail...........!?

Give me ironic wit over sycophancy any day

Ironic wit for sure!

I think George would really appreciate this article. If he's seen this he's probably laughing himself silly. Don't know if Amal would find it quite as funny since she's been working so hard to establish herself on the international stage.

Well, I think they've been around this week, 'cos I saw this........

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perfectly sure they'd laugh at it - she has the British sarcastic thing too. She had to explain that on stage at Zeitgeitminds to Eric Schmidt.......

I think they both would find that article funny.

...... if they even saw it. Regardless I think George and Amal are pretty accomplished, confident and secure people who really don't pay that kind of publicity much mind.

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Okay, all those who think this is appropriate -- head on shoulder... at the Vatican???????????????  I really am disappointed that 2 adults, esp  who are supposed to be so worldly, think turning that moment into a drive- in is acceptable.

 Let's hear it Donnamarie and Ann Marie  "it's okay cause they're in love".

I see no problem with it. She's resting her head on his shoulder, not straddling him. People are allowed to touch each other, even at a Vatican event.

I think that the other two persons inthe picture are holding hands, so...

I have no problem with public displays of affection. I think it's a sweet and endearing moment. George and Amal have genuine affection for each other. I don't know the context of the moment when the pic was taken but I dont find anything offensive about it at all. In fact I would go out on a limb and think that even the Pope would not find it offensive in any way.

Maybe they had jet lag  .    

Cialis commercial, take #127.

I hope they got a pair of outdoor bathtubs for their anniversary. They can set them up on the hillside and look out over Lake Como, holding hands.

They are paying close attention to what ever they are seeing that is the important thing.

It's not the movie-balcony PDA that bothers me. It's more that she looks like she's falling asleep! Curling up like that at an event as prestigious as this was is really immature, IMO. Sit like a grown-up. You can take your nap when you get back to the hotel.

This pic is a snap-shot (if we suggest that it wasn't staged).
So we don't know if they sat like that for half an hour or if she just might have come close to whisper some words to him and then cozied up for three seconds. If that's the worst pic which could have been taken during the whole award ceremony, it's actually pretty good. If somebody would constantly take pics of me during such an event, there would certainly be pics of me  yawning, touching my face, my nose, picking my fingers...

True Carol she may have felt tired and rested her head for a a minute we have no idea how long she was like that.

Or something was said from the stage they was heartfelt by Amal and George.