Pope Francis sends telegram to Queen and praises Philip's 'devotion to marriage & family'

Queen Elizabeth II's late husband Prince Philip has been honoured by the Pope just hours after his death on Friday. The leader of the Catholic Church reached out to the Royal Household to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Pope Francis's telegram to the Queen read: "Saddened to learn of the death of your husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, His Holiness Pope Francis offers heartfelt condolences to Your Majesty and the members of the royal family.

"Recalling Prince Philip's devotion to his marriage and family, his distinguished record of public service and his commitment to the education and advancement of future generations, His Holiness commends him to the merciful love of Christ our Redeemer.

"Upon you and upon all who grieve his loss in the sure hope of the resurrection, the Holy Father invokes the Lord's blessings of consolation and peace."

The Royal Family is in mourning following the Duke of Edinburgh's death which was announced by the Palace at 12pm on Friday.

While Prince Philip had been seriously ill in recent months and spent his longest-ever stint in hospital from February 16 to March 16 it is understood his death still came as a shock to the Royal Family.

The Duke and the Queen were married for an extraordinary 73 years and Philip was known to be her closest confidant.

Although Philip did not share his wife's constitutional powers he was known to be the Queen's sounding board when it came to tricky royal matters.

© Royal Family Twitter Prince Philip tribute

The Queen will have no doubt sought the Duke's counsel following the royal crisis sparked by Meghan Markle, 39, and Prince Harry's, 36, explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey last month.

While the Duke was in hospital at the time the interview aired in the UK, the Queen is likely to have kept him up to date on all the details.

The Duke died just months before he was due to celebrate his 100th birthday on June 10.

While the Government and the Palace have urged crowds against gathering at royal residences to pay their respects, dozens of floral tributes have continued to be laid by members of the public outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

On Saturday the Queen shared a sweet tribute to her late husband and consort on Twitter.

The first tweet featured a portrait of the couple taken by photographer Annie Liebovitz and read: "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.

"-Her Majesty The Queen, 1997."

The quote was taken from the Queen's speech to mark their golden wedding anniversary in 1997.

A second tweet from the Royal Family's official account honoured the Duke in his role as consort - a post he held for nearly seven decades.

"At The Queen's Coronation in 1953, The Duke of Edinburgh swore to be Her Majesty's 'liege man of life and limb.'

"The Duke was a devoted consort (companion to the Sovereign) for almost 70 years, from Her Majesty's Accession in 1952 until his death."

The tweet was accompanied by a link to the Royal Family's official website where a page was dedicated to Prince Philip. 

Pope says wars amid pandemic are scandalous during Easter address

Pope Francis has used his traditional Easter Sunday address to denounce as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage on even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering.

Francis tempered his “Urbi et Orbi″ wishes of joy on the Christian feast day along with accounts of pain from the globe’s many armed conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Describing vaccines as an “essential tool” in the pandemic battle, Francis called for a “spirit of global responsibility” as he encouraged nations to overcome “delays in the distribution of vaccines” and ensure that the shots reach the poorest nations.

“Everyone, especially the most vulnerable among us, requires assistance and has the right to have access to necessary care,” the pontiff said.

He sounded a note of indignation at the start of his address, decrying that there has been no shortage of war and conflict during the world’s worst health crisis in a century.

“The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nevertheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts have not ended, and military arsenals are being strengthened,” Francis said, sounding angry. “That is today’s scandal.”

The pope prayed that public authorities would see to it that those needing assistance have a “decent standard of living”.

He said: “Sadly, the pandemic has dramatically increased the number of the poor and the despair of thousands of people.”

He lamented the plight of people afflicted by war and other conflicts, citing Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries and which has been wracked by violent protests and political strife including an alleged coup. Francis urged Haitians “not to be overwhelmed by difficulties, but to look to the future with confidence and hope”.

Francis offered encouragement to young people in Myanmar who are “committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully”. Demonstrators in Myanmar took to the streets holding painted eggs in a reference to Easter. Myanmar’s military has violently sought to quash those opposed to a February 1 coup that ousted a democratically elected government.

Francis thanked Lebanon and Jordan for taking in refugees from war in Syria, praying that peace finally comes to “millions are living in inhumane conditions”. He also prayed for ends to conflicts in Yemen and Libya.

Citing suffering of people in Africa, he decried “internal violence and international terrorism, especially in the Sahel and Nigeria”. Other troubled areas he mentioned were Ethiopia’s Tigray province and Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, which has been hit by days of fighting with rebels for control of a town.

Francis prayed for the safe return home of prisoners of long conflicts in Europe, in eastern Ukraine and in Nagorno-Karabkh.

Earlier in the day, Francis celebrated Easter Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful in the pews barely numbered 200 in keeping with pandemic protocols, compared to the usual thousands.

By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press  3 days ago

Police break up Good Friday church service over 'breaches' of Covid restrictions

Worshippers reacted with anger after police “brutally” ordered them out of a Good Friday service and threatened them each with a £200 fine for breaching Covid restrictions.

Officers shut down the service at Christ the King Polish church in Balham, south London, telling those assembled inside that they were breaking the law.

Footage showed officers interrupting the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at around 6pm on Friday, with one filmed telling parishioners that the gathering was "unfortunately unlawful under the coronavirus regulations".

He added: "You are not allowed to meet inside with this many people under law. At this moment in time you need to go home. Failure to comply with this direction to leave and go to your home address, ultimately could lead you to be fined £200 or, if you fail to give your details, to you being arrested.”

The officer added: “It's Good Friday and I appreciate you would like to worship, but this gathering is unlawful.”

Christ the King church condemned the Metropolitan Police operation, accusing officers of having "brutally exceeded their powers by issuing their warrant for no good reason" because "all government requirements were met".

It said it had informed the superiors of the Polish Catholic Mission in England and Wales about the incident, adding: "We regret that the rights of the faithful have been wronged on such an important day for every believer and that our worship has been profaned.”

The church argued that the latest government guidelines for Lent, Holy Week and Easter allowed services to take place with the participation of the faithful, provided sanitary and distancing measures were put in place.

The latest coronavirus government guidance for England states that communal worship can be attended by as many people as the place of worship can safely accommodate, but that worshippers should maintain social distancing from anyone not from their own household or support bubble.

Scotland Yard said officers had been called to a report of "crowds of people queuing outside a church in Balham High Road" and that “officers engaged with the priest outside the church”.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "Officers attended and found a large number of people inside the church. Some people were not wearing masks and those present were clearly not socially distanced. Officers made the decision that it was not safe for that particular service to continue.”

"Understanding the sensitivity of the situation, and were invited inside to address the congregation. No fixed penalty notices were issued.”

It added: “This was one of a series of numerous events taking place at the church over the Easter period. We are engaging with church authorities today and will continue to do so in the coming days."

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, MP for  Tooting, said she was "deeply disturbed" by the disbanding of the service, adding: "Being of Polish heritage, I understand the sanctity of this day. No doubt this was deeply distressing."

She said police were working with the local community, with church services resumed on Saturday, and urged people to continue following Covid guidelines.

Following reports that a Good Friday service in a Balham church was disbanded, here is my statement: pic.twitter.com/iugC105Mpt

— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan 💙 (@DrRosena) April 3, 2021 

Baby dies of heart attack following baptism in Romania

The Orthodox Church in Romania is facing growing criticism after a baby suffered a cardiac arrest and died following a baptism ceremony.

Pressure to change the ritual, which involves immersing babies three times in holy water, is mounting on the church as local media reported similar incidents that have occurred in recent years.

The infant, who was six weeks old, was rushed to hospital in Suceava on Monday after suffering a heart attack but died a few hours later. The autopsy revealed he had water in his lungs.

A spokesperson for the hospital, Dan Teodorovici, was quoted by local media as saying: “A one-month-and-a-half baby was found in cardiac arrest in the church after the baptism service. The baby was respited by the SMURD unit that arrives on the spot.

“He was hospitalised in serious condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit, was intubated and mechanically ventilated.”

The father of the child told Monitorul de Suceava: “The boy was crying but the priest submerged him three times in water and he inhaled water. [I] removed him, wiped him, from the doctors I found out he inhaled 110ml of water… If you see a child with a gaping mouth and crying you wouldn’t immerse him completely in water, would you?”

Prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation agains the priest who performed the ceremony.

More than 56,000 people had signed an online petition calling for the ritual to be changed by Thursday night. The petition said: “The death of a newborn baby because of this practice is a huge tragedy. This risk must be ruled out for the joy of baptism to triumph.”

The Archdiocese of Suceava offered their condolences to the baby’s parents in a statement earlier this week and said: “There is no word or deed to wipe away the tears and now soothe the broken heard of parents and relatives, but we are with them at this particularly difficult time.”

A spokesperson for the Romanian Patriarchate, Vasile Banescu, said the church had “deep compassion towards the family of the deceased child, so hard tried now and whose pain we cannot even fully understand”.