Video: Pope Francis bowed down to Robert Mugabe

Pope Francis caused controversy on his first official day in ministry as he met and shook hands with Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe during his inaugural Mass in the Vatican today.

President Mugabe, who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of human rights abuses and vote rigging, was sitting in the VIP section during the installation ceremony in St. Peter's Square, and later received a personal greeting from the new pontiff.
Vatican officials tried to play down the infringement of the travel ban on the 89-year-old leader today, claiming all Catholics were welcome to the inauguration and that no personal invitations had been issued prior to the ceremony.

Conservative Catholic Mugabe is allowed in the Vatican City, located within the capital, as it is a separate state and therefore but subject to the EU ban.

When the Zimbabwean president arrived in Italy he was met by a priest at the Rome airport terminal who said: ‘On behalf of Pope Francis, welcome to the Vatican, welcome to the Holy See.’

Mugabe has visited Italy twice since the travel ban was enforced. In each case the conservative Catholic president was en-route to the Vatican, in 2005 for the funeral of Pope John Paul in 2005 and in April 2011 for ceremonies for his beatification.

Source: Daily Mail