Pope Francis has set up a special commission to review the activities of the scandal-plagued Vatican bank to ensure that it operated in harmony with the mission of the Catholic Church, the Vatican confirmed.
Leaders of an Argentine indigenous community together with Nobel Peace Prize Adolfo Perez Esquivel met on Monday with Pope Francis and requested he intercedes before Argentine president Cristina Fernandez so that she receives a delegation from the Qom community.
A last-minute no-show by Pope Francis at a concert where he was to have been the guest of honor has sent another clear signal that he is going to do things his way and does not like the Vatican high life.
A top Falkland Islands’ politician and Britain's UN envoy shrugged off the idea of the Pope intervening in the long-running sovereignty dispute over the Falklands/Malvinas and South Atlantic islands, as was suggested at one point by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.
Pope Francis on Monday received in a 20-minute audience President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro in the hall of the Vatican Apostolic Library. On arrival at the hall known as Sala del Tronetto, the Venezuelan president said it was an honour to meet the pope, adding that he was very impressed and happy to be there. He also thanked the Argentine pope for everything you are doing.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, 78, cancelled the last leg of his European visit, Italy, saying he was exhausted and suffering from jet-lag. He has been in the road since May 22, with a first official three-day visit to China, later to Spain, the Vatican and to Galicia and the Basque country, from where his family came.
“The Pope is very pleased for having met with a wise man”, was the official report from the Holy See following the 45 minute private audience of Francis with Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, the longest so far with a head of state. Although Mujica is a declared atheist and did not attend the inauguration of the first Latinamerican pope last March, he did request an interview with Francis, which took place on Saturday.
On Saturday June 1st the President of Uruguay, José Mujica, will meet Pope Francis. Mujica has been quoted as saying he does not believe in the Catholic Church but he admires it and that he hopes to open avenues of cooperation to advance on social issues in his country.
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica begins on Wednesday the longest and most ambitious of his overseas trips hoping to convince China to invest in infrastructure projects that are crucial for the development of the country and its foreign trade: a deep water port and recovering the rail cargo network.
Pope Francis criticised what he called savage capitalism on a visit to a food kitchen on Tuesday, in an address in which he called for the values of generosity and charity to be revived.