Prisoners have feet washed by the pope

ROME: Pope Francis performed the pre-easter washing of the feet ritual in Rome’s Regina Coeli prison on Thursday, amid a tense security situation in the Italian capital.

The Holy Thursday ritual recalls the gesture that Jesus is believed to have performed for the 12 apostles before the Last Supper, to show them that their leader was capable of the most humble act.

“I kneel before each of you,” Francis said, in comments carried by Vatican Radio. No video footage was distributed, to protect the privacy of the inmates, all men.

While eight of the prisoners were Catholics, the pope also washed the feet of two Muslims, one Orthodox Christian and one Buddhist, the Vatican said.

During the service, Francis hailed Jesus’ humbleness and said, “If kings, emperors and heads of state” had followed his example, “we would have not had many wars”.

Before celebrating the foot-washing Mass, the pope visited the prison infirmary. He later met more inmates of Regina Coeli, a former convent in the central Trastevere neighbourhood.

“No punishment that is not open to hope is just. A punishment that is not open to hope is not Christian, is not human,” Francis said in the meeting. “That is why the death penalty is not human nor Christian,” he added.

One inmate, who did not give his name, thanked the pope for his focus on prisoners and other destitute people. “In the name of everybody: thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Easter, falling on Sunday, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and is the most important Christian holiday. The washing of the feet is one of several rituals leading up to it. – dpa/african News Agency (ANA)

US visa backlash to hurt Russian tourists

MOSCOW: In a step that could affect hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists, the US embassy in Russia said this week it would suspend issuing non-immigrant visas in Moscow for eight days, and stop issuing visas in response to the Russian decision to cap embassy staff.

The embassy said it would resume issuing visas in Moscow on September 1 but the suspension would continue at consulates in St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok. Russia ordered the US to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755, or by twothirds, after the US instituted sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 US election and for its aggression in Ukraine and Syria.