The ecological restoration work here is locked in a race against deforestation as hard-pressed Malagasy turn to the forests to make charcoal, build homes or clear the forest for subsistence food production.

"The date was chosen as a sign of the will to build life and fraternity where others sowed death and destruction," said a communique by the Vatican press office Sept. 11.

Fresh off the papal flight, Gerry tells us if a schism may actually happen.

After Oct. 15, 53% of the cardinal electors will have been appointed by Francis.

Heading home from his trip to Africa, the pope criticized “schools of rigidity” in the church but said he welcomed criticism and did not see a U.S. schism as imminent. America’s Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell, reports.

Join us for a conversation with three of the most recent U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See as we commemorate the 35th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and the Vatican.