A caress for Benedetta
by Mario Ponzi
Translated from the 1/7-1/8 issue of
"Tu sarai benedetta per sempre" - You will always be blessed!
Benedict XVI murmured the words as he tenderly caressed the face of baby Benedetta, who has spent the first year of her life entirely in a hospital crib.
The Pope's secretary stroked the little inert hands, murmuring, "Sei bella, Benedetta, sei bella!' (You are beautiful Benedetta, you are beautiful!) and could not bring himself to leave.
Room 22 of the Pediatric Ward at the Gemelli university hospital of Rome - perhaps the most beautiful and touching moments during this Christmas season took place here.
On the eve of the Epiphany, Benedict XVI was visiting the children being treated at the hospital. The occasion was blessing the new center for care and assistance to children born with spina bifida.
He arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and was taken directly to the fifth-floor pediatric wards . He was bringing a gift for each of the patients and would visit each bed to greet the children.
He started with Suami, a Peruvian, to whom he gave a teddy bear which was larger than she.
For Andres, a Filipino, and Paolo, Italian, a train set and a pretend phone that 'speaks'. Edoardo was in the midst of a crying tantrum when the Pope came by. The Pope looked uncertain what to do, then took a stuffed Mickey Mouse decked in many colors and gave it to the boy. He stopped crying, and the Pope kissed him.
In Samuele's room, it was his mother Chiara who welcomed the Pope. The boy is attached to a life support machine and lay immobile on his bed. Chiara said to the Pope, "Grazie infinite, Padre". She may not ve used to dealing with church hierarchy, but she recognized the gesture of affection for her and her child, and received the Pope's caress as that of a father.
Next, Evelina, trying to embrace the enormous plush bunny rabbit the Pope had given her. telling her mother: "Mamma, I can tell my friends in school that I kissed the Pope!"
Then the Pope came to Room 22. Benedetta was born a year ago with a severe brain malformation. Her parents, seeing her so congenitally malformed, decided to abandon her. The nurses in the ward took over, named her Benedetta, and have cared for her like she was their own daughter.
"It is a miracle that she is still alive," said Claudia - or it could have been Santina, or Maria, or any of the other nurses who are Benedetta's 'mothers'.
The Pope was obviously moved as she listened to the baby's story, caressing her all the while. Before leaving her, he traced the sign of the cross on her forehead, and murmured, 'Tu sarai sempre benedetta!"
Then he had to visit the other rooms. His eyes were veiled with sadness. He lit up again when he descended to the social hall where children who were not bed-ridden were waiting with their parents to welcome him.
He had sweets and toys and books for all of them. In turn, they gave him three figurines representing the Three Kings, as well as drawings by the children, which the Pope particularly enjoyed looking at.
Then Francesca, a 19-year-old with spina bifida, greeted him in behalf of all the rest. They had just learned, she said, that myrrh represented suffering.
[In another story, Francesca's parents recount that she has had 25 surgeries since she was born, but even wheelchair-bound, she now attends university.]
"Here is our myrrh," she said. "We place them into your hands, Holy Father, so you may bring them to Jesus. We pray for you. For your health, and so that our prayers may help you to bear the weight of the problems that you must face every day".
The Pope addressed them then. And then he took his leave.
Massimo Introvigne in La Bussola Quotidiana has a very helpful commentary on the Pope's visit to the spina bifida center at Gemelli.
Just a brief note about spina bifida. It is one of the more common birth defects (1 in 1000 births) caused by a developmental failure of the embryonic neural tube in the 4th week of pregnancy. This results in a spinal column that is not properly 'closed'. In its most common form, the spinal cord is exposed (not covered by bone) at the point of failure, usually in the lower back, resulting in paralysis or motor impairment below the defect, neurological handicaps and extreme susceptibility to infections. Even if the defect is closed, the patient's functions remain impaired. Advances in management of the disease, including surgery performed on the fetus while it is still in the mother's womb, have improved life expectancy dramatically for these patients. Many have gone on to become successful paralympics athletes, and one of the most famous British conductors today, Jeffrey Tate, is a patient.
The Pope visits children
with spina bifida: A reminder that
no child should be unwanted
by Massimo Introvigne
Translated from
January 6, 2011
On the afternoon of January 5, the Pope visited the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, well known because this was the hospital to which John Paul II was admitted several times (from the May 1981 assassination attempt to his last hospitalization in March 2005).
The Pope, who visited the children in the pediatric wards and gave them gifts, also visited two of the hospital's centers: the Paul VI International Scientific Institute for research, diagnosis and treatment of infertility, and the center for children afflicted with spina bifida.
The choice indicates what the Pope called 'the commitment to serving life' by Catholic hospitals and the Church itself that the Pope has been encouraging.
Left, the Pope was presented with a T-shirt that says 'BORN TO LIVE' in five languages including German; right, with a spina bifida child.
The visit to the center for spina bifida children was particularly significant. Along with Downs children, these are generally the first victims of abortion after pre-natal diagnosis of the condition.
According to the International Federation for Spina Bifida, 80% of fetuses diagnosed with the defect in Europe are immediately aborted. Pierre Martens, president of the federation and father of an afflicted daughter who died at age 11 after surgery, said in an interview that the underlying cultural problem to these abortions is a false idea of 'quality of life'. And that usually after diagnosis, doctors tell the parents, "There's a problem with the fetus - you can decide to terminate the pregnancy".
But the medical data provided to parents about the handicap are all negative and often false. For instance, that a conceptus with spina bifida is not a viable pregnancy, or that if the baby is born, it is destined to suffer all the time and may not even recognize its parents.
I know of octogenarians who went to university and had successful careers, and many university professors. An Italian government minister has it. English conductor Jeffrey Tate lives with it and it did not stop him from reaching the peak of his profession.
The problem is with the wrong idea about 'quality of life'.
In fact, the usual 'answer' to spina bifida is not limited to early abortion. The Netherlands' infamous Groeningen Protocol on euthanasia allows terminating the life of children with spina bifida whose 'quality of life' is judged to be 'extremely poor' because of various health disabilities.
But who decides about 'quality of life'? Parents are often simply terrorized by all the inaccurate information about spina bifida.
Martens says that in countries where correct information is provided, the number of aborted spina bifida fetuses is much lower. "We have a project with doctors in Australia, where after prenatal diagnosis shows the fetus is afflicted, doctors counsel the parents to understand the disease and what they can do about it. There are local associations who will be with them for support. Since the program began, most parents have welcomed the handicapped babies instead of aborting them".
Correct medical information is very important. The Pope, by visiting the afflicted children at Gemelli hospital has once again recalled everyone to the essential: Every human creature is willed and loved by God, and no one can claim to decide that a life would be 'second class' and therefore can be suppressed.
"God became a baby", Benedict XVI told the children at Gemelli, "a child like you to tell you that he is always with you and to tell each of us that every child has the face of God".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/01/2011 04:00]