ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

Pope Francis will make a surprise trip to Cuba on Feb. 12 for a historic meeting with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, marking the first meeting between a pope and the Russian patriarch since the eastern and western branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago.

If there is one label that Antonio Falcone, a doctor turned civic leader, does not want to be known by, it is “the anti-pizza mayor.” Yet that is how notoriety caught up with the mayor of this small town in the Neapolitan hinterland in late December when, in an effort to lower air pollution, Falcone issued an ordinance banning the use of wood-fired stoves not equipped with filters that reduce toxic air pollutants.

The meeting has exposed deep fault lines between traditionalists focused on shoring up doctrine, and those who want the church to be more open to Catholics who are divorced, gay, unmarried with children or cohabiting.