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The decision by Beijing is the latest sign of tension in the already strained relations between China and the Holy See.

“Still alive,” Pope Francis reassured the world as he returned to the Vatican on Friday after a 10-day stay at the hospital following surgery to repair a hernia.

The Vatican financial trial, in which 10 defendants face charges of fraud and corruption in a shady real estate deal, has already seen a century’s worth of testimony. The trial itself, however, has only just begun.

Pope Francis had abdominal surgery on Wednesday to repair a hernia in his abdomen that had been causing him recurring pain, according to a Vatican statement.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu pleaded with the pope to confirm that the pontiff had endorsed an investment of church funds into a London real estate property that is at the heart of the Vatican’s blockbuster corruption trial.

Embarking next week on his 40th apostolic visit abroad, Pope Francis hopes to bring “a word of peace” and consolation during his long-awaited visit to Congo and South Sudan, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, conscious and stable but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday, a day after it revealed that the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated recently.

Approaching his 10th year as pontiff, Pope Francis took time to address his legacy in two interviews recently, talking to reporters about what would happen if he were to fall ill and the role of retired popes.