US President George W Bush has welcomed visiting Pope Benedict XVI to the White House for a reception attended by thousands of well-wishers.

The Pope, marking his 81st birthday, is being treated to a 21-gun salute and a rendition of The Lord’s Prayer.

Mr Bush will then hold private talks with the Pope, who is on a six-day trip to New York and Washington.

The pair hold many common views, including on abortion and gay marriage, but differ on Iraq and immigration.

This is the first visit by a pope to the White House in almost 30 years.

There were huge cheers as the Pope and Mr Bush took the podium for the national anthems of the Holy See and the US.

BBC Rome correspondent David Willey, who is travelling with the pontiff, says Mr Bush wanted Pope Benedict to attend a gala birthday dinner there, but this was declined in favour of the private luncheon party.

There has been tight security, with guests being checked with metal detectors.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: “[The Pope] will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message that God is love, that human life is sacred.” Our correspondent says likely subjects of the private talks will be the war in Iraq and Hispanic immigration into the United States.

During the flight to Washington from Rome the Pope told journalists he intended to bring up with President Bush the dangers of family break-ups caused by mass migration of people from Latin America seeking jobs and new lives in the US.

Other areas of disagreement could be the death penalty and the US trade embargo on Cuba.

However, there will also be much common ground.

Ms Perino said this would include expanding religious tolerance and curbing extremism, and on areas including Africa and Lebanon.

Both leaders also oppose embryonic stem cell research.

The issue of sex abuse among clergy may also be a topic of discussion but Ms Perino said it was not “necessarily on the president’s top priorities”.

On his flight to the US, the Pope said he was “deeply ashamed” by the child abuse scandal.

“It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound.”

In recent years, the US Catholic Church, which has around 65 million followers, has paid $2bn (£1bn) to settle clergy sexual abuse cases.

Ground Zero

The White House will proceed with its gala dinner on Wednesday evening, although the Pope will attend a prayer service in Washington instead.

The Pope will then celebrate a Mass for 48,000 people in Washington on Thursday and another later at Yankee Stadium in New York. He will also address the UN General Assembly.

On Sunday he will visit the site of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York.

The Pope arrived on Tuesday at the Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

The crowds cheered and clapped as he made his way onto the runway to be met by Mr Bush, his wife Laura and daughter Jenna.