Pope arrives in Malta; Migration, war top agenda
Pope Francis on Saturday arrived in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta for a pandemic-delayed weekend visit, aiming to draw attention to Europe's migration challenge.
Francis used an elevator to descend from the ITA aircraft onto the tarmac in Malta, as he had used to get on the plane in Rome.
It was the first time the 85year-old Francis had used the tarmac lift and was a sign that the painful knee inflammation he suffered for months had gotten worse.
Malta, the European Union's smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean.
It has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbours to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees.
Francis has frequently echoed that call, and will certainly link it this weekend to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account, was shipwrecked off Malta in around 60CE while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said migration will top the agenda for Francis' trip.
Pope says he's studying possible trip to Kyiv
Pope Francis says he is studying a possible visit to Kyiv and he blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a "savage" war. Francis didn't cite Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said "some potentate" had unleashed threat of nuclear war in an "infantile and destructive aggression" under guise of anachronist claims of nationalistic interests.