Pope Francis indirectly criticises Putin and says Ukraine visit is possible

Apr 3 2022

During his visit to Malta, Pope Francis has revealed that he is considering visiting Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, going on to implicitly criticise Vladimir Putin for his invasion.

The Catholic Church leader was invited by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the city mayor Vitali Klitschko on the 8th of March.

At the time of the invitation, the Vatican had confirmed receipt of the letter and said that the Pope, despite praying for Ukrainians, made no mention of any travel plans to the war-torn country.

Asked by a reporter on the plane which took the Pope from Rome to Malta, Francis said that, yes, a plan is on the table. He later addressed the topic in the presidential palace.

‘From the east of Europe, from the land of the sunrise, the dark shadows of war have now spread. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past.’

Without mentioning Putin by name, the Pope said that ‘once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all.’

The Pope wanted to make migration the focus of the Malta visit, given the island’s current geo-political climate on how to handle immigration. This coincides with the fact that almost 10.5 million people have been displaced from Ukraine.

The possible journey to Ukraine would follow the visit by EP President Roberta Metsola who met Zelenskyy in Kyiv to give a message of hope and peace. US President Joe Biden visited Polish borders as well but was prevented from entering Ukraine.

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Spiders can ‘hear’ using their webs new study suggests

Apr 3 2022

Spider-Man’s ‘Spidey Sense’ just got kicked up a notch as a newly released scientific study suggests that spiders can ‘hear’ through their web designs.

Spiders have been found to effectively hear predators and prey thanks to intricate ‘tuning’ systems using web strings.

Orb-weaving spiders can use the minute vibrations felt through the web and thus help them detect sounds and react accordingly. And these sounds, the New York Binghampton University study suggests, are picked up by hairs on the arachnid’s legs.

Insects are literally deaf due to them lacking eardrums, but spiders instead use highly sensitive hairs to pick up local vibrations such as sound from their webs.

As part of the research, orb-spiders were collected from windows on the campus of the university and they were each given time to build a web within a soundproof room.

The team would then play sounds into the room, to which the spiders reacted accordingly. The spiders were also found to detect where the sound is coming from. Four of twelve spiders even responded to the extremely weak signal through web detection.

The spiders would change body positions in order to alternate the tension of the web. This ‘tuned’ the web so the spider was able to hear specific sounds, in a way humans would tune a radio.

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Pope Francis meets and blesses ALS activist Bjorn Formosa

Apr 3 2022

During his visit to the island of Malta, Pope Francis got to meet and also bless local ALS activist Bjorn Formosa in Rabat.

In an incredibly touching encounter, Pope Francis met with Bjorn and his wife Maria and blessed the couple who broke into tears during the meeting.

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A post shared by Bjorn Formosa (@bjornformosa)

Writing to social media, Bjorn revealed that he asked His Holiness to bless the neurological homes; Dar Bjorn Qormi and Zebbug. ‘What an unforgettable experience!’ stated Formosa, with the crowd erupting into applause as the Pope blessed the local hero for many.

Bjorn, alongside his wife Maria, is one of Malta’s most prominent ALS activists, working tirelessly to build homes for persons with ALS and other neurological conditions.

On his last day on the island, the Pope will continue by meeting migrants in Hal Far and by delivering mass at the Granaries to thousands of Christians. He will be leaving Malta at around 5:50pm today.

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Pope on his way to visit migrants and Granaries mass

Apr 3 2022

Starting off the last day of his visit to Malta with a private meeting with the Jesuit order, Pope Francis will be making his way to meet migrants hosted at the Peace Lab later today.

He first made his way to St Paul’s Grotto in Rabat for prayers, in a site venerated since medieval times as the place just outside of the city of Melita. This is where St Paul is said to have stayed during his stay in Malta in 60 AD.

The Pope will then be leaving Rabat to celebrate Mass at the Granaries, which is set to welcome at least 12,000 people and 300 international journalists. Following this, the Pope will meet migrants at the ‘John XXIII Peace Lab’ in Hal Far.

He will leave the island in the evening after a farewell ceremony at the Malta International Airport at 5:50pm.

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Photo Source: Mark Soler