Hmm, whom are we going to believe? The current occupant of the Throne of St. Peter or the current laureate in Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” award?

Here is CNN’s reporting of the clashing accounts given by President Obama and Pope Francis of their conversation Thursday:

The two men greeted each other with a smile and a handshake and posed for pictures before sitting down across a table from each other. They spoke privately for nearly an hour.

When they emerged from the meeting, the President and the Vatican had slightly different takes on the tenor of their discussions, especially when it came to issues that have frayed the relationship between the Obama administration and American Catholic leaders.

"... (I)t was hoped that, in areas of conflict, there would be respect for humanitarian and international law and a negotiated solution between the parties involved," the Vatican said in a statement. "In the context of bilateral relations and cooperation between Church and State, there was a discussion on questions of particular relevance for the Church in that country, such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection. ..."

Obama, in a news conference that followed, told reporters that such issues were "not a topic of conversation" with the Pope and instead were discussed with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Another contrast that impressed was between the manner in which the President greeted the Pope:

And the way he greeted the King of Saudi Arabia: