Pope supports parents of Charlie Gard; Trump offers to help

July 03, 2017

Pope Francis has offered a statement of sympathy for the parents of Charlie Gard, the 10-month-old child who faces death in a London hospital after his parent were denied legal permission to take him to the US for experimental treatment of his rare genetic disorder.

In a July 3 statement the Pope expressed “affection and emotion” for the child and his parents. He added: “For them he prays, hoping that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end is not ignored.”

The papal statement contrasted with earlier staments by Archbishop Vicenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and by the bishops’ conference of England Wales. Neither of those statements had affirmed the rights of the parents to determine the appropriate course of treatment for their child. Even the Pope’s statement did not directly address to question of justice that arose when English courts, followed by the European Court of Human Rights, ruled that the hospital could override the parents’ wishes.

Earlier, on July 2, Pope Francis had issued a more general statement on his Twitter account that some readers saw as a reference to the Charlie Gard case: “To defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.”

Update: President Donald Trump has offered to help make it possible for Charlie Gard to come to the US for treatment. The American leader hinted that Pope Francis had encouraged his involvement. On his busy Twitter account, Trump said: “If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the UK and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.”

Amid rumors of diplomatic activity on behalf of the child and his parents, British Prime Minister Theresa May declined to comment on Trump’s remark, saying that the matter is “a very sensitive case.”

From Moscow, Metropolitan Hilarion, the chief external-affairs official of the Russian Orthodox Church, said that the European Court’s decision ignoring the rights of Charlie Gard’s parents was a “monstrous” decision, demonstrating “a deep crisis in the concept of human-rights protection.”

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis expresses closeness to Charlie Gard’s parents
• Charlie Gard: Pope Francis offers parents support (BBC)
• English bishops, Vatican issue cautious statements on English baby refused medical treatment (CWN, 6/29)
• Donald Trump offers 'help' to terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard (Daily Telegraph)
• Русская Православная Церковь (Moscow Patriarchate)