As Pope Francis prepares to travel to Albania on Sunday, September 21, we shine the spotlight on this small Mediterranean nation with a painful past of occupation (starting with the Ottoman incursions in the 14th century) and communist repression.

Currently Albania, which is an official candidate for membership in the European Union, boasts a 23-year-old democracy and the peaceful coexistence of numerous ethnic and religious denominations.

At the headquarters of Caritas International in the Vatican, a meeting of Caritas Middle East was held on September 15-17, 2014, updating on the geopolitical and demographic situation, and the needs and actions already under way to assist the recovery conflict-affected populations. Various officials openly admit that they are overwhelmed.

ISIS/ISIL obviously doesn't care if someone is a journalist with nothing to do with the conflict or who they are trying to help, as in the case of David Haines, the British man killed last weekend. This point was brought home in a House of Representatives hearing from Chairman Chris Smith, R-N.J., and ranking member Karen Bass on Wednesday right before the latest execution.

This Sunday’s papal trip to Albania will focus on the importance of dialogue with Islam, as the Muslim-majority nation with a notable Christian presence provides a fitting context for the theme.

Albania is about 57 per cent Muslim, but Catholics make up around 10 per cent of the population, and Orthodox another near 7 per cent.

Some 40,000 grandparents from 20 different countries, including two elderly people who have fled Iraqi Kurdistan. The President of the Pontifical Council for the Family Mgr. Vincenzo Paglia, presented the details of the Pope’s meeting with these people on 28 September in St. Peter’s Square. He did so at a press conference on the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia (22-27 September 2015). The local bishop, Mgr. Charles Joseph Chaput, explained that it is hoped Francis will attend the event but no official confirmation has been given yet.

Talks to remove the theological obstacles that are prevent the Catholic and Orthodox Churches from entering into full communion are proceeding slowly but steadily. This is the first sign that emerges from Amman, where the thirteenth plenary session of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is currently taking place.

The martyrs of the Communist regime and dialogue – including political dialogue – between faiths. These two topics will be the focus of Pope Francis’ visit to Albania on Sunday. He will only be in Albania for one day, 10 hours to be precise, and will deliver six speeches, spending most of his time in the capital Tirana. This will be the Pope’s fourth international visit after Brazil, the Holy Land and South Korea. After this he will visit Strasbourg and Turkey in November. Albania will mark his first trip to a European country.

With the onset of September this year, the memory is still rife with the events of the important conference which His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein had called for last year in Amman. At the time, the conference had a remarkable title, namely ”The challenges Facing Arab Christians”. It was attended by a large number of religious and civilian figures from the Middle East, as well friends from several countries around the world.

Marriage is not a “fiction” The path is not always a smooth one, free of disagreements, otherwise it would not be human. It is a demanding journey, at times difficult, and at times turbulent, but such is life! Marriage is a symbol of life, real life: it is not “fiction”! It is the Sacrament of the love of Christ and the Church,” Francis said in the homily he pronounced at the mass during which he celebrated the Sacrament of Marriage. The Pope celebrated the weddings of 20 couples from the diocese of Rome, in St. Peter’s Basilica.

One of the most detestable forms of violence, learned from the dissemination of information by the militants of the self-styled Caliphate “the barbaric indoctrination of children of about ten years old, forced to sing out against the presumed enemies and to carry weapons at an age when they should be able to play and to go to primary school with their peers”. This strong denunciation was made by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, at the Inaugural Summit of the “In Defense of Christians” Association held in Washington, D.C. on September 9.