Vatican conference convenes experts to study early Christian historyVATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Vatican conference will gather both Christian and non-Christian historians and experts to delve deep into the history of the church in the first centuries of Christianity. Speaking to journalists at the Vatican press office Oct. 26, Norbertine Father Bernard Ardura, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, said the conference program was inspired by Pope Francis, who urged him “to work with scholars from all scientific backgrounds, from the most varied cultural sensibilities and from the most diverse historiographical methods.” “Pope Francis insisted on the need...