Pope Francis took everybody by surprise at the end of the solemn Orthodox prayer service in the church of St George in the Fanar Istanbul nbsp on the evening of November 29 by asking the ecumenical patriarch of the 300 million member Orthodox Church nbsp Bartholomew I ldquo to pray for me an

Pope Francis prayed for some moments in the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in Istanbul on the second day of his visit to Turkey nbsp He did so standing nbsp alongside the Grand Mufti of this city nbsp head bowed eyes closed ldquo It was a moment of silent adoration rdquo the Vatican spokesman Fr Fed

On his first day in Turkey Pope Francis emphasized the urgent need to bring an end to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and in particular in Syria and Iraq and called for ldquo the solidarity of all believers rdquo to counteract ldquo fanaticism and fundamentalism as well as irrational

Pope Francis sought to inject new life into the old continent by delivering ldquo a message of hope and encouragement to all the citizens of Europe rdquo when he spoke to the European Parliament and to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg France on November 25 nbsp Speaking ldquo as a pastor

Later this week the President of the United States the most important person on the planet will pardon a turkey Now if this were quot Scandal quot this tradition might actually make sense insofar as it would give Fitz yet another reason to demand Liv come and visit The scene President Fitz

Three Catholic priests and a layman have been arrested by the police in Granada Spain charged with the sexual abuse of minors the Spanish Ministry of the Interior confirmed on November 24 The arrests came after the Spanish media last week revealed that Pope Francis had intervened directly in the