Pope sends Mons. Gaenswein
to visit Susanna Maiolo
by Antonio Sbraga
Adapted and translated from
January 2, 2010
SUBIACO - Mons. Georg Gaenswein, the Pope's private secretary, paid a half-hour visit on December 31 to Susanna Maiolo, 25, who had 'attacked' Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve, at the psychiatric ward of the local hospital where she is being temporarily kept for observation and care.
The visit was made in great secrecy, but upon leaving the hospital by a secondary exit door, Gaenswein was recognized by persons waiting in the hospital's first-aid area.
Apparently he arrived at 11:45 a.m. in a vehicle with Italian, not Vatican ,carplates, and dark windows. The visit was arranged with the head of the Psychiatric department and the hospital's nursing director.
Maiolo, who lives in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, has a history of psychiatric disturbances for which she has been previously treated. She first tried to approach the Pope after the Christmas Midnight Mass in 2008, but at that time, she was caught before she could get near him.
"I immediately recognized Mons. Georg," said one of the witnesses, who is a sacristy aide in one of the parishes of Subiaco.
However, the department head Paolo BGalimberti preferred to say "No comment".
He did say that "The patient is cooperating in her care and she is not under any obligatory health treatment. The question of a transfer has not been discussed, but she will decide for herself. We will continue to provide the appropriate care".
In a variety of stories, the Italian media are reporting on the major points made by Pope Benedict XVI in his various texts since Christmas Eve - probably because he is the only leader anywhere in the world whose Christmastime agenda is crammed with substantial events!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/01/2010 21:20]