The head of the Catholic church in Hong Kong has expressed optimism that the Vatican and Beijing can overcome the controversial issue of bishop appointments lying at the core of a decades-long dispute. Cardinal John Tong said in a lengthy essay published by the Hong Kong diocese that a “preliminary consensus has reportedly been reached” on the matter, and suggested that the pope could retain veto power over the ordination of mainland bishops under the new arrangement.

Pope Pius XIII makes use of the buzzer to call an assistant to interrupt an unwanted meeting, but does such a buzzer actually exist? In the first episode of “The Young Pope,” Lenny Belardo , aka the newly elected Pope Pius XIII, gets acquainted with his new digs in Vatican City, with Cardinal Voiello as his guide. When showing the young pope his office and where he’ll hold meetings with other church officials, Voiella draws his attention to an advanced feature of the pope’s desk: a buzzer on its underside that he can use to cut meetings short.