Pope Central African trip to go ahead despite secu

While the embassy did not explicitly tell US citizens to stay clear of the Vatican, it encouraged them to stay up-to-date when planning their travels. “No armored doors in the Church!”

“God weeps, Jesus weeps”, Pope Francis said on Thursday, in a damning critique of a world bent on war.

During his visit, Francis will meet with national and local Jewish leaders.

Citing the Book of Revelation, in which those who hear the Lord knocking open their homes, the Pope said, “Even he asks permission to enter … and does not force open the door”. There are still a few but there are also many where armoured doors have become the norm.

“We are all sinners”, he said.

The gatekeeper, that is, everyone in the church, must obey the voice of God and remember “the church is the custodian of the Lord’s house, not the master of the Lord’s house”.

Many of those expected to welcome the pope will come from neighboring countries on a continent that accounts for about 16 percent of the Catholic Church’s 1.1 billion members.

Francis will officially commence the yearlong observance on December when he opens the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Later in the audience, Pope Francis issued two appeals, one stressing the importance of child protection and the other celebrating the mission of cloistered religious brothers and sisters.

“I hope the worldwide community shall be vigilant over the living conditions of children, especially where they are exposed to recruitment by armed groups; I also hope it shall help families ensure every child the right to schooling and a wholesome upbringing”.

A statement from the Vatican released labelled the attacks “an attack on peace for all humanity” and called for “a decisive, supportive response on the part of all of us as we counter the spread of homicidal hatred in all its forms”.

His mother took him to wave at God’s representative on earth back in 1993 but, being only three years old, “I don’t have a lot of memories about that visit”, he said.