Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for not renouncing her faith in front of a Sudanese court, is free.
Italian vice-minister for foreign affairs Lapo Pistelli posted a picture of himself with Ibrahim and her family on Facebook with a message that read “with Meriam, Maya, Martin and Daniel, a few minutes from Rome. Mission accomplished.
The family will meet with the Pope before flying to the United States to start a new life.
The move was a surprise to everyone associated with the case and there have been no details released yet regarding how Italy was able to get Ibrahim and her family out of the country. Unconfirmed reports say the Italian government and the Vatican entered negotiations two weeks ago to free the family.
Ibrahim’s attorney Mohaned Mostafa told Reuters not only did he not know the she was leaving the country, but that the charges the government was using to keep her from leaving have not been dismissed.
Her family had also been keeping her in the country by suing to have a court declare her a Muslim against her wishes but that suit was dropped earlier this week.
Pope Francis has taken another step to reach out beyond the walls of the Vatican by opening the Pope’s summer residence to the public for the first time in history.
The gardens around Castel Gandolfo, a ridge-top castle 20 miles from Rome, will now be available for the public to tour, walk and meditate in the gardens. The gardens are terraced with views of the sea.
The grounds also include a small farm including a herd of cows that supply milk and butter to the Vatican. The farm also produces eggs, olives and honey which will be sold to the public at the grounds and at a supermarket in Vatican City.
The gardens will be open mornings Monday through Saturday and cost 26 euros for admission.
The escape from Rome to the summer home was initiated by Pope Clement VII in the 16th century. Pope Francis says that he plans to spend the summer in Rome because he has too much work to do.
Pope Francis went to give alms Sunday at a Rome parish next to the city’s main railway station on the church’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees where he spoke out on the plight of the world’s refugees.
“Let us think of the many migrants, the many refugees and their suffering,” Francis said to those in attendance. “Their lives are often without jobs and without documents and with a lot of pain.”
The Pope is the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. The parish where he spoke on Sunday provides the needs of immigrants and homeless in Rome.
The Pope also spoke bold words against human traffickers that prey on those attempting to reach a better life in a new country. He called them “merchants of human meat who want to enslave migrants” and asked for governments to focus on not only helping immigrants but jailing traffickers.
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu is leading a delegation of six government officials to Rome for a meeting with Pope Francis.
The two-day visit will be the first time the two men have met face-to-face.
Officials close to the scheduled meeting say it’s likely the two men will discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli President Shimon Peres invited the Pope for a visit to Christian holy sites in April followed by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas who met Pope Francis on October 17th. Sources say it’s likely the Pontiff will visit the Holy Land near the end of May 2014.
Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in 1993 but continue to have issues regarding property rights and tax exemptions for the Catholic Church. In June, negotiators pledged to step up their work to solve outstanding issues.
A crater six feet wide and three feet deep appeared overnight near the end of a runway at Rome’s airport, spewing clouds of toxic gas 15 feet into the air.
The crater was discovered by drivers Saturday morning in the middle of a roundabout 900 feet from a runway’s end. Crowds had gathered to look at the crater until firefighters and vulcanologists closed the area because of deadly gas believed to be a mix of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and methane. Continue reading →