It’s rare indeed when an American president takes part in a four-way conversation and was, arguably, the least remarkable person in the group, but such was the case in June 1975 when President Gerald Ford made a visit to the Vatican. On that occasion, Ford met Pope Paul VI, today St. Paul VI, the pope who guided the Catholic Church through the close of the Second Vatican Council and the immediate post-Vatican II years. The two were joined by then-Archbishop Agostino Casaroli…