Redi Tlhabi speaks with Kim Daniels on the growing strain between the Vatican and the US under Donald Trump. As Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first anniversary as pontiff, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, visited the Vatican, reportedly to smooth strained relations between Donald Trump and the Roman Catholic leader Pope Leo has … Read more
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will meet Pope Leo XIV as part of a state visit to the Vatican in October. A previous official visit to the Vatican was postponed earlier this year because of the poor health of the pontiff’s predecessor, Pope Francis. The King and Queen paid a brief private visit to … Read more
The United States president says a deal is ‘very close ‘as he criticises Russia’s leader. Donald Trump promised to end the Ukraine war on day one of his US presidency. Then his special envoy promised to end it within the first 100 days. The second self-imposed deadline is days away, with no deal in sight. … Read more
Swiss Guards accompany the pallbearers with the wooden coffin of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on April 23, 2025, during the translatio — the solemn transfer of the pope’s body for public viewing ahead of Saturday’s funeral Mass. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA The transfer of Pope Francis’ coffin to St. Peter’s Basilica began at … Read more
The Vatican affirmed good relations with the US but noted ‘an exchange of opinions’ on global conflicts and migration. US Vice President JD Vance has met with the Vatican’s top diplomats, discussing the politically fraught issue of migration months after Pope Francis rebuked the new US administration’s hardline immigration stance. Vance, a Catholic convert, held … Read more
Holy See reports ‘improvements’ in recent days, indicating pontiff may soon be able to leave hospital. Pope Francis is responding well to hospital treatment for double pneumonia and his doctors no longer fear for his life, the Vatican says. The Vatican added on Monday that the 88-year-old pontiff’s condition was “stable” with doctors lifting their … Read more
Vatican says pope still receiving oxygen as hospitalisation for double pneumonia nears two-week mark. Pope Francis’s condition remains critical but has shown a “slight improvement”, the Vatican has said in its latest update on the 88-year-old pontiff’s health. In a statement on Monday, the Vatican said “the clinical conditions of the Holy Father, in their … Read more
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing breathing difficulties. Pope Francis’s health has deteriorated over the past 24 four hours, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had suffered a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” and needed blood transfusions. “This morning Pope Francis presented a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis, which also … Read more
Vatican says Francis’s respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis but that he remains ‘in good spirits’. Pope Francis has contracted double pneumonia, further complicating treatment for the 88-year pontiff, the Vatican has said. The Vatican on Tuesday said Francis’s respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment. Francis has … Read more
CNN — The Vatican says it is unclear how long Pope Francis will stay in hospital after he was admitted on Friday with a respiratory tract infection. The 88-year-old pope’s current condition was described by the Vatican as “fair” after he was admitted to Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for treatment for bronchitis – the … Read more