Prosecutors are seeking a three-year jail sentence for the former president of the Vatican's children's hospital.

Unlike most previous Popes, Francis doesn’t buzz off to Castel Gandolfo for a cool holiday during these summer months, when Rome becomes a swelter of stickiness. 

The independent statehood of the Vatican City allows Pope Francis to be a neutral voice of conscience for all of the peoples across the world, writes TP O’Mahony