At the Vatican, Pope Francis this week paid homage to several of his papal predecessors. On Tuesday (April 2), the pope prayed before the tomb of John Paul II on the eighth anniversary of his death. The day before, he became the first pope to visit excavations of the tomb of St. Peter under the basilica named for him. Also this week, the Vatican responded to questions about why Pope Francis usually speaks prayers rather than singing or chanting them. The spokesman said he believed it was due to a hoarseness in the pope’s voice. In an earlier interview, Francis called himself “tone-deaf.”