The pope shouldn't make the rules as he doesn't play the game.
The pope made a sign of the cross over it.
Pope made his first trip to Iran in the spring of 1925.
This is a point the Pope has made consistently over the last few years.
The current pope has made something like 100 apologies so far.
At present only in certain defined circumstances does the Pope make use of this right.
In 1821 the pope made him a doctor of divinity.
In 1984 the pope made him the patron of Catholic artists.
Popes do not make a big deal of their birthdays.
But after the pope makes the apology, what effect will it have in the wider Catholic world?