Post date: May 01, 2011 5:36:57 PM
Pope Benedict receives heads of state and members of royal families who attended the beatification ceremony of Pope John Paul II. Among them Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
VATICAN CITY (MAY 1, 2011) CTV - Pope Benedict received heads of state and members of royal families from across the globe who joined over a million people at the Vatican on Sunday (May 1) to participate in the beatification of Pope John Paul II.
Some 90 official delegations from around the world,including members of five European royal families and 16 heads of state, attended the beatification.
They included Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has been widely criticised for human rights abuses in his country. Mugabe is banned from travelling to the European Union, but the
Vatican -- a sovereign state -- is not a member of the bloc.