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| 1982, Jan. 16 |
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| Full diplomatic relations were established between the Vatican and the United Kingdom, ending the long-standing diplomatic rift. | 1 |
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| 1984, Jan. 10 |
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| The United States and the Vatican reestablished diplomatic relations, which had been broken off in 1867. | 2 |
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| 1986, April 13 |
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| In the first visit by a pope to a synagogue, John Paul expressed his abhorrence of the genocide of the Jewish people during World War II at Rome's central synagogue. | 3 |
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| 1988 |
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| The pope excommunicated Marcel Lefebvre, head of a Roman Catholic traditionalist movement, for consecrating four bishops against the Vatican's wishes and thereby causing a schism. | 4 |
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| Feb. 19 |
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| The pope published his seventh encyclical (Sollicitudo rei socialis) to address the question of international solidarity and development needs. | 5 |
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