#POPE

Pope Francis is showing a “good response” to his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Pope Francis is still critically ill as he battles double pneumonia, but his condition has shown a "slight improvement,", the Vatican said on Monday.

The funeral of John Paul II was one of the world’s largest Christian gatherings in history. At the time of his death, around 100,000 pilgrims gathered at St. Peter’s Square.

The Mass on Holy Saturday is the longest in the liturgical year.

A fragment of a medieval lead papal bull was discovered near Wysoka Kamieńska, northwest Poland, Grzegorz Kurka, Director of a regional museum dedicated to the history of the land announced on Tuesday. This is the third ‘bulla’ to arrive at the museum in recent years.

In an interview with Reuters, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg made clear that he disagreed with Pope Francis’s comments that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” saying that it would be “a tragedy for the Ukrainians” if they were to surrender.

The Polish Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, has responded on social media to Pope Francis’ comments suggesting that Ukraine should “raise the white flag” and end the war with Russia.

“During World War II, was anyone serious about peace talks with Hitler?” Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Holy See Andrii Yurash asked, referring to Pope Francis’ recent words about having the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate.