Pope Francis’ new doctor is a specialist in aging

By Hannah Brockhaus for CNA

February 24, 2021 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Pope Francis in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Jan. 17, 2021. Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Feb 24, 2021 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis on Wednesday named a specialist in aging to be his personal doctor, after his previous physician died earlier this year.

Roberto Bernabei, 69, is from Florence, Italy, and is a professor of internal medicine and geriatrics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.

He is also director of the School of Specialization in Geriatrics at the same university.

In the past, he was president of the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and also a member of the European Academy for Medicine of Ageing.

Bernabei is one of eight children of the well-known Italian director, producer, and journalist Ettore Bernabei, who died in 2016. He is married and has two daughters.

The personal physician of Pope Francis died in January from health complications related to the coronavirus.

The 78-year-old Fabrizio Soccorsi, who was being treated for cancer, died at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Pope Francis attended his funeral at the Vatican on Jan. 26.

The pope had named Soccorsi, an expert in hepatology, the digestive system, and immunology, as his personal doctor in August 2015.

As Francis’ physician, he often traveled with him on his international trips.

Pope Francis, who turned 84 in December, will be traveling to Iraq for four days next month.

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Two more anti-Catholic attacks: church in El Paso and school in Denver

July 19, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
F*** religion,’ ‘Satans watching,’ ‘666,’ and an upside down cross were drawn on the side of Annunciation Catholic School in Denver in June. / Annunciation Catholic Church

Boston, Mass., Jul 19, 2023 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in northeast El Paso, Texas, was vandalized on July 17.

The parish did not release information about the vandalism, citing an ongoing investigation by the El Paso Police Department. 

“The Most Holy Trinity Catholic Community and Diocese of El Paso [wish] to thank our local law enforcement for their attention in regard to this matter. We ask for your prayers for all involved as we continue to work with law enforcement on this matter,” the church said in a Facebook post Monday.

According to the El Paso Times, a police unit that investigates hate crimes is on the case.

A month ago, on June 16, two vandals were caught on camera drawing anti-Catholic graffiti on the walls of Annunciation Catholic School in Denver. 

“F*** religion,” “Satans watching,” “666,” and an upside-down cross were drawn on the side of the school building. 

Father Charles Polifka, OFM Cap, pastor of the school’s affiliated church, told CNA Wednesday that his message to the vandals is one of “forgiveness.” 

“So many people are not getting the message of what we teach or they’re not getting a message of the Gospel at all,” he said.

“They’re not getting a message of peace. They’re not getting a message of reconciliation or anything like that. It’s all violence that they’re getting. They’re getting it from their music, they’re getting it from everywhere except from the church,” he said.

“And I think that’s what causes it,” he added.

“There’s no doubt about giving them forgiveness. I was often thinking that the police statues are going to be justice. But if we get ahold of you, it’s going to be mercy,” he said.

In July, two arrests were made in separate incidents of vandalism at Catholic churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. 

Another attack on a Catholic church in Miami occurred in early June, resulting in the arrest of a 44-year-old woman who allegedly spray-painted the words “perverts,” “pigs,” “liars,” and an upside-down cross on the church wall, a sign, and columns within the courtyard of the church’s school.

In May, a 41-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with causing more than $78,000 in damages in an arson attack at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois.

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