Past popes have apologized for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but none have publicly acknowledged the role their predecessors played in giving European sovereigns explicit authority to subjugate and enslave "infidels."
Russia’s new ambassador to the Vatican met Sept. 18 with Pope Francis for a protocol visit, as signs emerged that the Vatican's Ukraine peace envoy could soon be undertaking a second mission to Moscow.
Pope Francis briefly went to Rome's main hospital on June 6 for tests and returned to the Vatican, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis.
