Miles de personas asisten a la despedida al papa Francisco en la basílica de San Pedro, donde trasladaron sus restos, en el inicio del velatorio público de tres días previo al funeral del pontífice, que murió el lunes a los 88 años.

Una multitud de fieles avanza lentamente hacia el altar principal de la basílica del siglo XVI, donde el sencillo ataúd de madera de Jorge Bergoglio está ubicado en una rampa inclinada, custodiado por cuatro integrantes de la Guardia Suiza.

Leé también: Las últimas noticias de la despedida al papa Francisco en la basílica de San Pedro

Para los próximos días se prevé que otras miles de personas pasen por la basílica, que permanecerá abierta hasta la medianoche. Mientras tanto, los cardenales se reunieron en privado para terminar los preparativos para el funeral del sábado y planificar el cónclave para elegir al sucesor de Francisco. Se prevé la asistencia de varios jefes de Estado al funeral del papa, entre ellos del presidente Javier Milei.

La actividad del día por la despedida al papa empezó con el sonido de las campanas de San Pedro, mientras los portadores llevaban el cuerpo de Francisco a la basílica, en una procesión por la misma plaza que fue escenario de su despedida, pese a su delicado estado de salud luego de haber tenido una neumonía bilateral.

Fue en la Plaza San Pedro donde Francisco hizo el domingo un recorrido sorpresa en papamóvil entre los fieles el Domingo de Pascua, después de que su enfermera le asegurara que podía hacerlo a pesar de su frágil salud tras una fuerte neumonía.

El cardenal, Kevin Farrell, que administra el Vaticano temporalmente hasta que se elija un nuevo papa, encabezó la procesión por el pasillo central hacia el altar, con nubes de incienso que lo precedieron mientras el coro de la iglesia cantaba el himno de la Letanía de los Santos.

Los cardenales se acercaron al ataúd, se inclinaron e hicieron la señal de la cruz, seguidos por pequeños grupos de obispos con túnicas púrpuras, sacerdotes y monjas, y después se abrieron las puertas al público. El velatorio terminará el viernes a las 19.00 hora de Roma, y el ataúd será cerrado y sellado.

Luego del funeral del papa se iniciará un período de transición en la Iglesia católica, en el que los cardenales se reunirán durante la próxima semana antes de entrar en un cónclave, el ritual secreto de votación en la capilla Sixtina para elegir un nuevo papa.

Son 133 los cardenales que elegirán al próximo papa en un cónclave que no se espera que empiece antes del 5 de mayo. El cardenal surcoreano, Lazarus You Heung-sik, que dirige la oficina del Vaticano para los sacerdotes, consideró que cónclave será corto y reconoció que la transición está llena de incertidumbres.

El cardenal dijo sobre la elección del sucesor de Francisco: “Veremos qué dice el Espíritu Santo”. Consultado sobre si el próximo jefe de la Iglesia católica sería de Asia, se limitó a decir: “Para el Señor no hay Este ni Oeste”.

El primer y único cardenal de Papúa Nueva Guinea, John Ribat, se preparaba para viajar a Roma para participar en la votación, y dijo en declaraciones a Australian Broadcasting Corp: “Lo importante es que Papúa Nueva Guinea forma parte de la Iglesia, la Iglesia global. Poder tener un representante local para estar en el cónclave es algo grande”.

President Donald Trump signed multiple Executive Orders relating to education Wednesday afternoon, with several tied to the theme of returning meritocracy back to the education system. 

The orders, seven in total, included actions to integrate artificial intelligence into K-12 school curricula, reforms to school discipline and accreditation guidelines, requirements related to the disclosure of foreign funding to schools and enhancements to the country’s workforce development programs. 

Trump’s slew of education-focused orders also included another directive demanding an end to DEI ideology in schools, specifically the use of «disparate impact theory,» on top of his previous executive order from January ordering an end to DEI-like programming and ideology in K-12 schools. An Executive Order setting up a White House initiative supporting the efficiency and effectiveness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities was also signed by the president on Wednesday.

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«They’re allowing people into school – they can’t do math – and yet kids who have worked really hard and are number one in their class out of high school – some place in New Jersey or Mississippi – they can’t get into the best schools,» Trump said as he signed his order implementing new school accreditation requirements. «What is that all about?»

«I think that gets to your policy, sir, of meritocracy – that we should be looking at those who have real merit to get in,» Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was standing over Trump’s shoulder as he signed, chimed in. «And we have to look harder at those universities that aren’t enforcing that.» 

The accreditation reforms, along with the president’s Executive Orders on school discipline and «disparate impact theory,» were all connected to pulling back from the Biden administration’s era of prioritizing DEI over meritocracy. Specifically, the accreditation reforms seek to prevent accreditors from imposing «discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based standards,» while compelling them to «prioritize student outcomes.»  

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Meanwhile, under the Biden administration, the Department of Education released student discipline guidance contending that persistent racism clouds school disciplinary systems. Trump’s Wednesday Executive Order rescinds that guidance.

President Donald Trump has been a staunch opponent to what he describes as «discriminatory» diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the United States.  (Getty Images)

«Under, I believe it was the Biden administration – first Obama and then Biden – the Department of Justice issued guidance that made it almost impossible for schools to enforce adequate disciplinary policies,» Trump’s executive assistant Will Scharf said of the order as Trump was signing it. «Basically they focused on CRT and diversity ideology, instead of actually just enforcing the rules in classrooms to ensure a safe learning environment.»    

The prohibition of «disparate impact theory» builds on the president’s past orders on ridding «discriminatory» DEI programs and influences from educational settings.

«This is a theory that underlies a lot of the modern DEI and CRT-driven diversity culture,» Scharf explained. «The basic idea is instructing your department and agencies to no longer rely on disparate impact theory as they’re regulating, as they’re issuing guidance, as they’re making rules. We want to focus on results, we want to focus on actual fairness, we want to focus on merit, not things like disparate impact theory and the whole sort-of diversity, equity and inclusion cult.»

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President Donald Trump signs an executive order relating to education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Besides focusing on returning meritocracy to the education system, the president’s Executive Orders also sought to modernize American education and workforce preparation through the implementation of AI education in schools and through a commitment to add 1 million new apprenticeships.  

The AI order, Trump’s latest pro-AI measure, established a White House task force for AI and education that will work with federal agencies and the private sector to help draft AI programs for schools. 

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The president previously signed an Executive Order in January, which worked to rescind Biden-era policies that critics say restricted the nation’s AI growth.

India announced a raft of measures to downgrade its ties with Pakistan on Wednesday, a day after suspected militants killed 26 men at a tourist destination in Kashmir in the worst attack on civilians in the country in nearly two decades.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a media briefing that the cross-border linkages of the attack had been «brought out» at a special meeting of the security cabinet, after which it was decided to act against Pakistan.

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He said New Delhi would suspend with immediate effect a crucial river water treaty that allows for sharing the waters of the Indus river system between the two countries.

The defence advisers in the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi were declared persona non grata and asked to leave, Misri said, adding that the overall strength of the Indian high commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30 from 55.

The main border crossing checkpost between the two countries will be closed with immediate effect and Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to travel to India under special visas, Misri said.

At least 17 people were also injured in the shooting that took place on Tuesday in the Baisaran valley in the Pahalgam area of the scenic, Himalayan federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, police said.     

It was the worst attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings, and shattered the relative calm in Kashmir, where tourism has boomed as an anti-India insurgency has waned in recent years.

A little-known militant group, the «Kashmir Resistance,» claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message. It expressed discontent that more than 85,000 «outsiders» had been settled in the region, spurring a «demographic change».

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Indian security agencies say Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, is a front for Pakistan-based militant organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Pakistan denies accusations that it supports militant violence in Kashmir and says it only provides moral, political and diplomatic support to the insurgency there.