NewsTracker Answers for week of Sep. 14, 2015

Q: Pope Francis said last week that he will give temporary housing in Vatican City to at least two refugee families and asked that every European parish, monastery, and shrine do the same. The state of Vatican City is in Rome. Where is Rome on this map of Italy?

Circle the area on this map

Q: How large is the Vatican City State?

A. 110 square miles

B. 11 square miles

C. 1,110 acres

D. 110 acres

D. Vatican City is a 110-acre walled enclave inside the city of Rome. With a population of 842 people, it is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population.

Q: The pope will visit the United States next week after first stopping at a Latin America nation which just recently resumed diplomatic relations with the U.S. after more than 50 years of hostilities. Which nation is that?

A. Argentina

B. Brazil

C. Cuba

D. Venezuela

C. Pope Francis and the Vatican  played a crucial role in smoothing the path to negotiations between Cuba and the U.S. Cuba announced last week that it will release  3,522 prisoners in advance of the pope's visit.

Q: Next week's visit will be the pope's first visit to the United States. Before becoming pope he was archbishop of Buenos Aires in . . .

A. Argentina

B. Brazil

C. Italy

D. Venezuela

A. Francis is the son of an Italian who immigrated to Argentina in 1929. Both of his immediate predecessors Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II had visited the U.S. before ascending to the papacy.

Q: During his U.S. visit, Pope Francis will address both Congress and the United Nations General Assembly. The pope is a head of state who rules Vatican City as a . . .

A. President

B. Monarch

C. CEO

D. Dictator

B. Although popes are elected by the College of Cardinals, they rule the city state as absolute monarchs.