Photo courtesy of member of Alfie's core team

Pope Appeals for Alfie Evans: The Only Master of Life Is God

Asks All Present to Pray in Silence for Alfie and Vincent Lambert

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Pope Francis has made a strong appeal to protect the life of Alfie Evans, stressing the only master of life is God.
At the end of today’s General Audience, the Pope again voiced his appeal to defend the life of Alfie Evans and Vincent Lambert, both with illnesses needing strict medical care. Pope Francis met with Tom Evans, Alfie’s father, in the Vatican this morning. ZENIT has an exclusive interview with Tom that will be published as soon as possible.
In his remarks at the end of the audience, Francis also asked for silence and prayer for these two people.
During his Sunday Regina Coeli, Pope Francis called for prayers for the two critically ill people at the center of “life issues” debates in England and France.
“I entrust to your prayer persons such as Vincent Lambert in France, little Alfie Evans in England, and others in several countries who live, sometimes for a long time, in a state of grave illness, assisted medically for their primary needs,» the Holy Father said.
“They are delicate situations, very painful and complex.  Let us pray so that every sick person is always respected in his dignity and cared for in a way adapted to his condition, with the harmonious contribution of the family, of doctors and of other health workers, with great respect for life.”
To save Alfie Evans, the case pits parents against hospital in a legal battle over whether care should be continued. Regarding Vincent Lambert, the case involves a debate over whether a severely disabled patient should be allowed to die as a result of lack of food and water.
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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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