Rome, April 18, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has opened diplomatic channels to facilitate Alfie Evans’ transfer to the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, after meeting with his father, Thomas Evans, this morning at the Vatican.
According to La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, the Pope has tasked Italian Bishop Francesco Cavina, of the diocese of Carpi, with maintaining relations between the Vatican’s Secretariat of State and the family, “so that all initiatives be taken to transfer the child to the Bambino Gesù in Rome.”
The news emerged this morning, after 21-year-old Thomas Evans met privately with the Pope at his Santa Marta residence. At the meeting, Evans presented Alfie’s case and pleaded with the Holy Father that he be brought to Italy to receive treatment at the Vatican-run Bambino Gesù hospital (read Thomas Evans’ full statement below).
“We do not understand why our child amongst many more is being treated like this,” Evans said. “We believe it is because he is disabled and the U.K. wants to legalize euthanasia.”
“Please help us save our innocent child and give us the grace of asylum to keep our family safe and to stop all of this,” he added.
After listening to Evans’ plea, Pope Francis told him: “You speak well, Thomas, you are defending your son with courage, the same courage with which God defends his children.”
Benedetta Frigerio, a journalist with La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana who was present at the meeting, told the pontiff about the heightened police presence at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, and explained that the rights of other parents are also at stake. She said that, in defending Alfie, “we are defending all children and that is why we are asking you to take steps urgently.”
The Pope agreed and tasked Bishop Cravina — who made possible the private audience — with maintaining contact between the family and the Secreriat of State to find ways to ensure respect for the dignity of the child.
As Pope Francis bid Evans goodbye, he told him: “Thomas, hope is only found where God is.”
Later this morning, at the end of the Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis called for a moment of silence for Alfie, and for Vincent Lambert, a 42-year-old Frenchman who also faces a hospital and state imposed death sentence (by starvation), against the will of his parents. Unless action is taken, Vincent Lambert’s sentence by starvation will begin on Friday.
The Pope said:
“I would again draw attention to Vincent Lambert and little Alfie Evans, and I would like to reiterate and strongly confirm that the only lord of life, from the beginning to its natural end, is God! And our duty, our duty is to do all we can to care for life. Let us think in silence and pray that the lives of all persons be respected, and especially those of our two brothers. Let us pray in silence.”
There appears to be new hope for little Alfie now that Pope Francis has opened diplomatic channels to transfer him to Rome. Yet a decision from the U.K. Supreme Court is still pending, and the bishops of England and Wales have come out defending the hospital.
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Thomas Evans’ message to the Holy Father at this morning’s meeting
I cannot thank you enough for allowing me the opportunity to be here in front of Your Holiness today.
Our child is sick but not dying and does not deserve to die. He is not terminally ill nor diagnosed.
We have been trying our best to find out his condition, to treat or manage it.
I am now here, in front of Your Holiness, to plead for asylum. Our hospitals in the U.K. do not want to give disabled children the chance of life and instead assisting in the death of children.
We now have realized our son’s life does not mean much to the NHS [National Health Service].
We plead to you to help our son.
Alder Hey hospital do not want to let Alfie leave the hospital unless he is dead!
Alfie is not dying, so we don’t want to take him out in the way the hospital wish us to.
We see life and potential in our son and we want to bring him here to Italy, to the Bambino Gesù, where we know he is safe and he will not be euthanized.
When Alfie shows me and his mum any sign of suffering or dying, we will enjoy every last moment with him, but Alfie has not yet shown us he is ready to go, so we continue to fight just as he shows us to.
If Your Holiness helps our child, you will be potentially saving the future for our children in the U.K., especially the disabled. We pray the problem we are facing is solved peacefully and respectfully. No child deserves this.
Especially not a child of God.
The judges in the U.K. have not told the truth about our son and his condition. They have listened to everything the hospital have said and agreed with them. But there is no real medical evidence to say Alfie will die, or that he has this form of disease.
Since Dec. 14, Alder Hey have asked us more than 100 times to remove Alfie’s ventilation, even when he came off the life support three times. Doctors in the U.K. said he would never be able to do this, but Alfie proved top experts wrong and they still pushed me and his 19 year old mum to let him die, even when he came off life support.
Alfie has been on life support, with a tube down his nose and throat, for 15 months. This is very wrong. He should be, and needs to be, on a tracheostomy. This is clinically and professionally very wrong.
We do not understand why our child amongst many more is being treated like this. We believe it is because he is disabled and the U.K. wants to legalize euthanasia.
Please help us save our innocent child and give us the grace of asylum to keep our family safe and to stop all of this.
The hospital are depriving us from sleep and not allowing us to sleep with our own son we have to sit in a chair all night with him to comfort and protect him.
