The following day they received a personal thanks from Pope Francis.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner confirmed that the Pope was aware of the men's hard work.

"I asked them whether they'll come again today and so they came all dressed in their work clothes. Instead of work, we surprised them with the Holy Father personally thanking them," the Cardinal told OSV News.

Many of the men are temporary residents at Palazzo Migliori next to the Bernini Colonnade in Rome,

These homeless men, hailing from countries such as Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Congo, have been given temporary shelter and employment opportunities in Rome.

After unloading the truck, the men were invited to lunch that was prepared by the sisters in Santa Sofia.

Krajewski also confirmed they were paid for unloading the truck.

The Cardinal, a Polish native who has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine, plans to deliver more supplies to the war-stricken country in September personally.

He also aims to open a shelter for mothers in Ukraine, run by the Albertine sisters.

Acting on behalf of Pope Francis, this will be Krajewski seventh humanitarian visit to Ukraine;

In 2022 alone the Dicastery for the Service of Charity spent US$2.2 million in 2022 on aid for the country.

When asked about the Pope's recent comments praising Russia's historical empire, a subject that could be considered sensitive given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Cardinal Krajewski described the situation as a "minefield."

"During the war, such speeches are difficult," he said, underscoring the complexities of offering public remarks while navigating Ukraine's geopolitical tensions.

The intervention of these homeless men in aid distribution efforts and the Pope's personal acknowledgement of their contributions highlight the broader commitment of the Vatican to not only international humanitarian aid but also social inclusion and dignity for all.

Source

• OSV via UCANews.com

The group came from a parish near Rome, where Fr Andrea Conocchia has been ministering to a transgender community for several years.

Last year Francis asked Krajewski to provide food and financial support to members of the transgender community who were struggling without work due to the pandemic.

"Life is life and you must take things as they come," Francis says. Each situation is unique and must be welcomed, accompanied, studied, discerned and integrated.

"This is what Jesus would do today," Francis said another time when asked about meeting a transgender man who said it would be a consolation to come and see him with his wife.

This Easter, the papal almoner invited Conocchia to bring the transgender people under his care to the Vatican to have their COVID vaccinations.

The group reacted with "surprise" and "emotion" to the experience of entering the Vatican for the vaccination, Conocchia says.

Many are undocumented and unable to access Italy's free health care services, he says.

"They were moved to tears and felt remembered, having experienced once again and in a tangible way the closeness and tenderness of the pope's charity."

Vaccine hesitancy and disinformation

Pope Francis and others in the Vatican are working to encourage vaccinations of all people, especially those most vulnerable to missing out on the life-saving opportunity.

The Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life along with French-based World Medical Association and the German Medical Association have released a joint statement about this issue.

They say disadvantaged communities' reluctance to be vaccinated "is rooted in historical inequities, breaches of trust in medical research, negative experiences with healthcare and suspicion about pharmaceutical companies' behavior focused on profit."

More must be done to overcome such hurdles to save lives around the world, they say.

"Millions around the world are still suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination is widely seen as a fast and effective way to control the spread of the virus and save human lives," their statement says.

They are blaming "vaccine nationalism" with wealthy countries quickly signing agreements for vaccine doses for their populations while poor and developing countries were left unable to protect their own populations.

The Vatican's bioethics academy and the World Medical Association echoed these concerns last Friday, calling for an all-out effort to combat vaccine hesitancy and correct the "myths and disinformation" that are slowing the fight against the disease.

Some vaccine reluctance in poorer countries is rooted in historical inequalities and suspicions of Western pharmaceutical companies, they said.

But "a more pernicious form" of hesitancy is being driven by fake news, myths and disinformation about vaccine safety, including among religious groups and some in the medical community.

"All relevant stakeholders [should] exhaust all efforts to … confront vaccine hesitancy by sending a clear message about the safety and necessity of vaccines and counteracting vaccine myths and disinformation," they said.

Source

• UPI
• Religion News Service
• New York Post
• Image:America Magazine
  

It all started two weeks ago, when a trans woman asked Fr Andrea Conocchia for help.

He gave her food and basic supplies from the care packages.

The day after, the woman returned with a friend - then more and more people arrived.

As Conocchia's parish's resources were already stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic and two of the women are from Argentina, he urged them to write to Pope Francis about their situation and to ask for the money they needed to pay their rent.

Francis showed his support through the papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski (pictured on the bike), who administers the pope's charitable work.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, Krajewski has been driving around Rome distributing food and medical supplies to the poor.

He has also given them enough money to cover their rent and bills until the nationwide lockdown ends.

Krajewski responded to the women's plea for help by transferring money to the parish.

"What a great answer by the Holy Father!" Conocchia says.

"It gave us the chance to give concrete help for their needs."

He says he reached out to Francis knowing his concern for "the most in need, the smallest, the most fragile, who live in the margins, or as the pope says, the most discarded."

Krajewski says he is surprised at the media attention the Church's support for the trans women is getting.

"This is ordinary work for the Church, it's normal. This is how the Church is a field hospital."

"We follow the gospel."

He also pointed out that trans sex workers are probably undocumented, as the Mafia often confiscates their passports. This makes it difficult for them to seek help from Italian state welfare offices.

"Everything is closed. They don't have any resources. They went to the pastor. They could not have gone to a politician or a parliamentarian. And the pastor came to us."

Conocchia is defending his decision to ask the pope for help for the women.

"As a person, I am happy to meet them personally and listen to them personally, as I hope that any priest would do."

He says he's happy the Church was a point of reference for them, even though their lives are currently not in step with the Church's teachings.

"They know very well about their lives, they know very well," he notes.

He says when two of the individuals were drafting the letter that was sent to Krajewski, they were "crying like children," because they were ashamed, but they also encouraged one another to be honest.

"What was important to me was the open door of the parish church, and the possibility of welcoming, listening and accepting the person that I had truly and concretely in front of me," Conocchia says.

Source

• Crux
• Thomas Reuters Foundation
• Religion News Service
• Fox News
• Image: NewsBeezer

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski's parish is the street, and no virus will stop him from helping the poor, he says.

On Sunday, he toured around the Roman parishes and told them that "washing the feet of those in need is like consecration during Eucharist."

He also urged priests under lockdown to open their showers to the poor, "respecting all procedures of protection" from the coronavirus.

"I went to one friary - I asked - how many of you are there? They said 20. It is 20 men that can serve the poor! We don't need to put our lay volunteers in danger, the Churchmen can do it!" Krajewski says.

In his opinion, prayer without alms these days is "incomplete".

"Before Urbi et Orbi on Friday, the Holy Father gave 30 respirators to hospitals, then he prayed for the world," Krajewski said.

Krajewski has a special message to the hundreds of priests around studying at pontifical universities in Rome:

"Put away the theology books for now - there is a Gospel in the making on the streets."

Two homeless people and a Muslim woman regularly prepare sandwiches for the city's poor in his home in the Vatican.

"It is a home church," he says.

The poor are telling him they are hungry, he says.

"There is no place to go for them to ask for help - bars and restaurants are closed."

Urging priests to go out and serve the poor, he says: "We have two hands, the intelligence of the Gospel: We only lack a little courage."

Krajewski is not asking his confreres to do anything he wouldn't - and isn't - doing himself.

While Rome is under lockdown, he collects food from factories and businesses in Rome and delivers it personally to the city's poor.

"Companies are giving away tons of food. We have to deliver it before it goes bad," he says.

On his delivery-round this week are two convents where dozens of sisters are infected with COVID-19 (coronavirus).

The Pontifical Villas Dairy Production from the Vatican's Castel Gandolfo property donates fresh milk and yoghurt every day.

Saying he once dreamed of being a milkman, he jokes that his dream is now coming true.

Krajewski says he has been tested for COVID-19, and the results were negative.

"I did it for the sake of the poor and people who work with me - they need to be safe," he says.

Krajewski's position as papal almoner has been given greater attention under Pope Francis's pontificate.

He is widely seen as one of the pontiff's closest collaborators.

Source

• Crux
• Image: Catholic News Agency

The building has been occupied since 2013 after being taken over by activists, who are using it to provide shelter for the homeless and to host several workspaces.

Its power had been cut by its electricity supplier since 6 May because it had accumulated a 300,000 euro debt.

The sum is believed to have accumulated in the years since the unused building was taken over in 2013.

"I intervened personally last night to turn back on the meters. It was a desperate gesture. There were over 400 people without electricity, families with children," says Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, almoner of the office of papal charities.

"I didn't do it because I'm drunk," he added.

His practical response to the situation was to climb down a manhole and flip a switch.

Matteo Salvini, Italy's populist deputy prime minister, is expecting Krajewski to pay the outstanding arrears.

"I expect that the pope's almoner, who intervened to turn the power back on in an occupied building in Rome, will also pay the 300,000 euros in back bills."

As papal almoner, Krajewski is responsible for distributing donations to those in need on behalf of Pope Francis. Other initiatives he has carried out include providing a dormitory, barber services and showers for those in need.

Source

• Rome Reports
• Catholic Herald
• Euro News
• Image: America Magazine

Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid.

Direct Vatican aid helped 8000 people in 2014, along with religious communities which used it for basic needs or building renovation work.

The donations are generally modest, because the Vatican hopes to reach as many people as possible, explained Bishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, from the papal almoner's office.

Pope Francis has made the plight of the homeless and other marginalised groups one of the defining themes of his papacy.

Fundraising initiatives have multiplied with the pontiff even auctioning off gifts from visiting heads of state.

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