It also follows the outbreak of violence this week on the Thai-Cambodian border, in which a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of fire between the two sides. Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of land disputes, though Thailand said after the short skirmish that the situation had been resolved.
“Sometimes decisions are not accepted,” he said in a TV interview. “But in most cases, when you don’t accept a decision, it’s because you don’t understand.”“This has happened with these last decisions about blessing everyone,” Francis added. “The Lord blesses everyone.”
The beneficiaries of Francis’ welcoming attitude included a— many of them Latin American migrants who worked in Rome as prostitutes — who visited his weekly general audiences and were given VIP seats.Transgender women, from left, Claudia Vittoria Salas, Andrea Paola Torres Lopez and Carla Segovia speak as they sit in the Beata Vergine Immacolata church in Torvaianica, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Transgender women, from left, Claudia Vittoria Salas, Andrea Paola Torres Lopez and Carla Segovia speak as they sit in the Beata Vergine Immacolata church in Torvaianica, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)“Before, the church was closed to us. They didn’t see us as normal people. They saw us as the devil,” said Colombia-born Andrea Paola Torres Lopez. “Then Pope Francis arrived, and the doors of the church opened for us.”
The pope’s mixed legacy was epitomized by the Vatican’s 2023 synod bringing together hundreds of bishops and lay people to discuss the church’s future. The advance agenda mentioned LGBTQ+ issues; one of Francis’ hand-picked delegates was the Rev. James Martin, a U.S.-based Jesuit and prominent advocate of greater LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Pope Francis presides at a Mass for the closing of the 16th general assembly of the synod of bishops, in St.Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File), Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste. “It’s exciting to see. Obviously you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side, and I’m always actually keeping up with them quite a lot. So I hope they keep it going.”
Won’t be easy, of course, perhaps especially for the 13th-seeded Shelton, the big-serving lefty who goes up againstof Spain for a berth in the quarterfinals. No. 12 Paul takes on No. 25
of Australia; No. 15 Tiafoe meets unseeded Daniel Altmaier of Germany.Not since Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996 have multiple Americans made it to the quarterfinals in Paris.