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A Plea for Mercy: Thomas Evans asks Pope Francis to Save Little AlfieToday a British judge dismissed an appeal made by the couple, that would have allowed them to remove their son from Alder Hey Children's Hospital and transfer him to the Bambino Gesú Hospital in Rome, which has offered to take Alfie. At the hearing this afternoon in Westminster, Lord Justice Moylan stressed that Tom and Kate's parental rights over Alfie "do not take precedence" over what the court has determined is in the child's best interests...
In a letter sent on Sunday to the archbishop of Liverpool, Thomas Evans also confirmed that he and Alfie are both baptized Catholics despite the archdiocese saying that they weren't. So far the archdiocese has made no comment on the case. Leaked internal memo According to an internal memo from the archdiocese leaked today, an archdiocesan auxiliary bishop has offered support "to doctors and staff" of Alder Hey children's hospital, but "has not met with the parents who, it is understood, are not Roman Catholic." The level of ignorance reflected in the leaked memo is particularly astounding given the fact that the judge who ordered Alfie's ventilator to be removed stated in his ruling that the child's parents are Catholic, and even used Pope Francis' words to justify his decision (Kate James, in fact, was baptized in a Protestant Church). The internal memo, dated April 13, also describes the Alder Hey medical staff as acting "in the best interests of Alfie," and it praises the hospital as a "centre of excellence." It includes statements from the hospital and local police regarding recent peaceful protests outside the hospital, but fails to include any statement from Thomas Evans and Kate James. A source close to the Vatican and to the Catholic Church in England told LifeSiteNews: "The statement from Peter Heneghan of the archdiocese of Liverpool is astounding for its blithe denial of Tom Evans' professed Catholicism, for its lack of compassion and for the absence of anything pertaining to the Catholic faith. It might as well have been written by an ill-informed official from the local Council or NHS Trust." "Coupled with the conspicuous and unacceptable silence of Archbishop McMahon, we're left to believe there's something seriously rotten about the archdiocese of Liverpool," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. A disturbing silence The silence is particularly problematic because, in March, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said the Vatican would not intervene in preventing the removal of Alfie's ventilator, insisting that the English bishops' conference "can intervene on sensitive issues like these." "There is a local community that accompanies these people. They are able to know the situation more closely and more accurately. I would never want such an intense drama to be reduced to a battle on abstract principles," Paglia told the Italian news agency Tempi. However, so far the local archbishop and the bishops' conference haven't issued any comment, while the leaked archdiocesan press memo makes clear that no one from the archdiocese has met with Thomas Evans and Kate James, nor with little Alfie. This morning, in fact, an Italian priest living in London made a four hour journey to Liverpool to administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to little Alfie, because he read that a priest of the archdiocese was contacted but replied, "it is not my job." "If the Church wants to be a Mother she has to draw close to the weak, to the sick, and to the least ones," said Fr. Gabriele. The Italian priest noted how Alfie "responds" and "reacts" when his father draws near to him and kisses him. He also expressed deep concern that "the fifth commandment is being violated so superficially," but said "it is beautiful to see a father with such clear principles, who is capable of knowing good from evil"... Click here to continue reading and to view Thomas Evans' plea to the Catholic Church for help.
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