Pope Francis receives Róbert Bezák, former archbishop of Trnava

Pope Francis received former archbishop of Trnava Róbert Bezák at the Vatican on Friday. Bezák was removed from his post as archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI in July 2012, as allegedly Bezák was paying too much attention to suspect financial transactions that took place in the archdiocese under his predecessor. Bezák's removal from office was also discussed during a personal audience that Pope Francis granted to Slovak President Andrej Kiska on Thursday. "The meeting with Pope Francis can be described as the biggest breakthrough in Bezák's case, regardless of how long the audience took place and what was actually discussed," said church analyst Imrich Gazda, adding that a personal audience is the highest form of audience to be granted to a state or church representative. Gazda couldn't say whether the public is expected to see any progress in the case in the near future, as there are no details known about the meeting.