Pope Francis calls space, takes small step for Vatican-Russian ties

Vatican City • Pope Francis took a small step toward improved Vatican-Russian relations Thursday when he chatted with Russian cosmonauts and praised their understanding of love during a call with the International Space Station.Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli played translator during the roughly 20-minute call that was interrupted once when the line dropped at the orbiting laboratory.Like a curious child, Francis peppered Nespoli and the five other crew members with questions both simple &m