Pope Francis: 'He always cooked fantastic paella'

Pope Francis makes a mean paella, starts his day before dawn and has taught Vatican chefs to make his favourite pudding, a new book claims.

Pope Francis starts his day at 4.15am, is a dab hand at making paella and once gave a baby a dummy dipped in whisky to stop it crying, a new book has revealed.

The Jesuit Pope rises before dawn, has a shower and a shave, and then starts the day with a cup of his beloved "maté" – a caffeine-rich, tea-like beverage from his native Argentina.

He loves cooking and is used to preparing meals for himself from when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, according to a new biography by an Italian-born, Argentine journalist, Elisabetta Piqué.

"He always cooked fantastic paella for us," Angel Rossi, a Jesuit priest, told the journalist, whose book, Francis: Life and Revolution, is published this week.

The South American pontiff has managed to teach the chefs at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he chose to live in favour of the much grander Apostolic Apartments, how to prepare his favourite dessert – a sweet milk pudding called "dulce de leche".

‘I felt only love’: Disfigured man embraced by Pope Francis speaks out about the experience

The disfigured man whose meeting with Pope Francis made headlines all over the world has finally spoken out about the experience – and said the moment left him speechless.

Vinicio Riva, 53, suffers from neurofibromatosis Type 1, a rare genetic disorder which results in painful tumours on his face and body.

Speaking for the first time to the Italian magazine Panorama, Mr Riva said the moment captured by photographers in St Peter’s Square on 6 November “all lasted not more than a minute, but it seemed an eternity”, and that it was “like being in Paradise”.

Mr Riva told the magazine he had spent a lifetime living on the margins of society in Vicenza, northern Italy, where his younger sisters and late mother also suffered from the same rare disease.

In the past he has made a number of visits to Lourdes, a Catholic shrine in France which is the site of thousands of religious pilgrimages every year, until a travelling companion this year suggested he go to Rome.

Mr Riva spoke of his shock when, after meeting Pope Francis and kissing his hand, the Pontiff then pulled the 53-year-old towards him.

“What most astonished me is that he didn’t think twice on embracing me,” Mr Riva said. “I’m not contagious, but he didn’t know. He just did it; he caressed all my face, and while he was doing that, I felt only love.

“I tried to speak, to tell him something, but I couldn't: The emotion was too strong.”

Afterwards, Mr Riva turned to his aunt who accompanied him to the Vatican and said: “Here I leave my pain.”

The interview with Panorama comes as Pope Francis’ popularity has never been higher. A YouGov poll released yesterday suggested that, since the Argentinian had taken on the highest office in the Catholic Church in March this year, he has made a sustained and positive public impression.

The survey found that only 3 per cent of people thought he had done a bad job since being made Pope, compared to the 11 per cent who though he would do a bad job when he was installed.

While 36 per cent of people said they had a negative opinion of the church before Pope Francis and still do, 17 per cent said he had made them think more positively about Catholocism.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, Malaysian To Be Caned For Drinking Beer, Gets Ramadan Reprieve

This is an old story but we could learn a lot about our country and its legislation. What is wrong with these people. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The first woman in Muslim-majority Malaysia to face caning for drinking beer was reprieved Monday because of the holy month of Ramadan. Her family said she would rather get the thrashing with a rattan cane now and put the ordeal behind her.

Islamic officials had taken Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, into custody and were driving her to a women's prison for the caning when they abruptly turned around and sent her back to her family home in northern Malaysia.

"She feels like a football being kicked around," Kartika's father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib, told The Associated Press. "She's so exhausted and unhappy with the delay. She would prefer to just receive the six strokes and have everything finished."

Amnesty International, Malaysian lawyers and some politicians have condemned the sentence, while other critics have warned it would tarnish Malaysia's image as a moderate country. Islamic officials have defended it as necessary to uphold Islamic values – underscoring tensions between religious conservatives and more liberal and secular elements in society.