By Philip Pullella ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) – Pope Francis asked the Nicaraguan government on Thursday to allow expelled nuns of the order founded by Mother Teresa to return to Nicaragua, saying they were harmless “revolutionaries of the gospel.” The 18 nuns of the Missionaries of Charity order were taken to the border with Costa Rica in July as part of a crackdown on the Catholic Church by the government of Daniel Ortega. The Church in the Central American country acted as a mediator during 2018 protests against the government. Since then, the Church has had a strained relationship wi…