Interview with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry: “We want to destroy ISIS. Russia cannot continue to support Assad”.

Q: The United States and the Holy See have been working together with success on several issues of common interest, from Cuba to the Middle East. Why is the visit by Pope Francis important, do you see now the possibility to lift the embargo against Cuba, and what are the next peace initiatives the United States and the Holy See could work on together in the future?

Interview with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry: “We want to destroy ISIS. Russia cannot continue to support Assad”.

Q: The United States and the Holy See have been working together with success on several issues of common interest, from Cuba to the Middle East. Why is the visit by Pope Francis important, do you see now the possibility to lift the embargo against Cuba, and what are the next peace initiatives the United States and the Holy See could work on together in the future?

In the 230-some-year history of the United States, papal visits have been rare and very recent. The first pope to visit America was Pope Paul VI in 1965. Largely unknown, however, was a near-papal visit three decades earlier, when, in November 1936, a prominent Vatican official named Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli arrived on U.S. shores after setting sail all the way from Naples.

Francis celebrates mass in Havana’s Plaza della Revolución, inviting Cubans not to neglect their brothers and sisters “for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person “beside you. At the Angelus, the Pope appealed for a peaceful solution to the military conflict between FARC forces and the Colombian government

In his first speech in Havana, in the presence of Raúl Castro, Francis greets Fidel, encourages the process that led to the re-establishment of diplomatic ties with Washington and calls for freedom and resources for the Church in Cuba. Tomorrow Francis will meet Fidel at his residence.

The story relevant to Yazidi girl ''Jinan Adel'' has overshadowed international media outlets' coverage of the one-day conference organized by the foreign ministries of France and Jordan in Paris. This girl had been kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants for three months. She fled to France to document her suffering in a book titled, "Jinan, Daesh's Slave" (Jinan, ISIS' Slave). In her book, she describes the suffering she had been exposed to.

It had been donated to Benedict XVI and is intended for use during events where the Pope is present. Now, it is serving migrants around Rome several times a week. Meanwhile, the first family of refugees from Damascus are being hosted in a house in the Vatican.

In the Pope’s eyes, “the conscience of man” is one of the main casualties in the crisis in the Middle East. The international community has not managed to come up with adequate solution.

The first ever Latin American Pope will visit the Caribbean island and the US for the first time, amid hopes, controversies and challenges.

In his July 13 in-flight interview to Rome from Paraguay, Pope Francis indicated that he would “have to begin to study” for his first trip to the United States.

Time will tell if his preparation has paid off.

Francis will become the third pope to visit the White House, when President Barack Obama welcomes him there at the beginning of his much anticipated five-and-a-half day apostolic voyage.