Papal travel

Pope in Albania urges Muslims to condemn extremism
- Sep 21, 2014
Pope Francis called Sunday for Muslims and all religious leaders to condemn Islamic extremists who “pervert” religion to justify violence, as he visited Albania and held up the Balkan nation as a model for interfaith harmony for the rest of the world. “To kill in the name of God is

By Associated Press
Scenes from Pope Francis’ visit to Albania
- Sep 21, 2014
Pope Francis made a whirlwind trip to Albania on Sunday. Catholic practice (along with all other religious practice) was nearly extinguished under a brutal isolationist Communist dictatorship. But now, the Pope highlighted the country as a model of Muslim-Christian co-existence. He also honored the memory of Albania’s most famous Catholic,

By joel.abrams
Albania captures Pope Francis’ agenda in miniature
- Sep 21, 2014
TIRANA, Albania — If one were to ask Pope Francis to tick off his top social concerns, he might well say peace, inter-faith harmony, contemporary Christian martyrs, and serving the poor. If that’s the list, then the pontiff’s quick 10-hour trip to Albania Sunday serves as a perfect symbolic expression

By Inés San Martín

Pope Francis to exalt Albania as a case study in peaceful coexistence
- Sep 20, 2014
ROME — In many ways, Pope Francis’ choice of Albania for his first visit to a European nation outside Italy seems enigmatic. He’ll land in the capital city of Tirana on Sunday for a quick one-day stop, and the obvious question heading in is: “Why?” Albania is the least well-known

By Inés San Martín
Meeting will highlight Christianity in Turkey
- May 10, 2014
When Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople meet this month in Jerusalem, the buzz probably will be about two milestones from the past: 1054, when Eastern and Western Christianity split, and 1964, when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras embraced in the Holy Land to begin healing the division.

By John L. Allen Jr.
Obama, Pope Francis both win in summit meeting
- Mar 29, 2014
When Barack Obama met Pope Francis on Thursday, it was the 28th encounter between a US president and a pope since Benedict XV received Woodrow Wilson in 1919. By now, the post-game analysis in America has become almost as predictable as the protocol in the Vatican. What American pundits inevitably

By John L. Allen Jr.