The pope's last selfless act in a lifetime of sacrifice: granting an audience to JD Vance

That must have been one hell of a confession Vance had to make. Francis was a forgiving man so maybe he didn't feel he could say no

- John Crace

What do Liz Truss and JD Vance have against elderly people? Specifically, those who are kind, decent and compassionate.

Take Radon Liz. In September 2022 she made a fleeting visit to Balmoral to be sworn in as prime minister by the queen. The last picture that was taken of Queen Elizabeth was of her standing in front of a fireplace next to Truss. You can't escape the desperation in her eyes. Please, please, she seems to be pleading, get me away from this lunatic.

Just put yourself in the queen's shoes. You've done a lifetime of service to the nation. Your first-ever prime minister was Winston Churchill, back when politicians were real politicians. And then just when you should be starting to take it easy, you get lumbered with David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. And then just when you think you might be in the clear, along comes the Trusster. Literally the dimmest prime minister of all time. Even 49 days of Radon Liz was 47 too many.

On Easter Sunday, the US vice-president was at it. Forcing his way into the Vatican on one of the holiest days of the year to get an audience with a pope, who was clearly very unwell. That must have been one hell of a confession he had to make. His loathing of immigrants, people dear to Francis.