Pope Francis calls for COVID-19 vaccines to be shared

The human rights defender Bianca Jagger continues her battle against the political repression of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua, where she was born. Several bishops and priests are incarcerated in Nicaragua, where the Catholic Church is suspected of supporting the opposition.

For the first time in centuries, a sitting pontiff will preside over his predecessor's funeral. Pope Benedict was the first Roman Catholic pope in 600 years to leave his post before dying.

Pope Francis starts a historic trip to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday - two countries where protracted conflicts have displaced millions.

At the start of a trip to Democratic Republic of Congo, Pope Francis has said that Africa is not a "mine to be stripped" as he took aim at the "poison of greed" fueling conflicts on the continent.

Pope Francis strongly denounced the "economic colonialism" which "is unleashed" in Africa and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on the first day of his visit to the country. "After political colonialism, an equally enslaving economic colonialism was unleashed.

Large crowds turned out in the Democratic Republic of Congo's for mass with Pope Francis. The pontiff is on a six-day trip to the continent.

"May he convert the hearts of those who carry out brutal atrocities, which bring shame upon all humanity," the 86-year-old said. He added that the conflict in mineral-rich eastern Congo was driven by greed, at the expense of innocent victims, and called on combatants to lay down their arms.

Pope Francis is in Africa now. The trip takes him from Democratic Republic of Congo to South Sudan. For many in the Congolese capital, meeting the Pope is historic.

A papal mass drew a crowd of over a million people to Kinshasa this week. Prayers were said for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the power of the Catholic Church is a counterweight to the state.

The leader of the Catholic Church travels to Juba along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the moderator of the Church of Scotland. The three leaders are hoping to push for peace amid continued fighting.

Returning from Africa, Pope Francis took umbrage with those who used Pope Benedict XVI's death to attack the church. He was also joined by fellow faith leaders he traveled with in defending the gay community.

When the papal conclave elected a clergyman from Argentina as pope on March 13, 2013, the world immediately started asking questions. Ten years later, historians and theologians assess what he has achieved.