Last week, Judge Nicholas Francis of the Family Division in the U.K.’s High Court of Justice ruled that Charlie Gard’s parents had 48 hours to present evidence that experimental treatment will improve their son’s condition. At a subsequent hearing on Thursday, the judge decided that Gard should be evaluated by an American doctor who claims that an experimental treatment may improve his condition.

“I have to decide this case not on the basis of tweets, not on the basis of what might be said in the press, or to the press,” Judge Francis said last week as he gave his initial ruling, alluding to the global interest in the case.

But how has this case garnered so much attention from people in the U.K., people across the world, and even world leaders? Read on to learn more about the Charlie Gard case and the controversy surrounding it.

Who is Charlie Gard?

Charlie Gard, born August 4, 2016, suffers from a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). It is caused by a mutation in which the cells’ mitochondria stop functioning. More specifically, Charlie has RRM2B encephalomyopathic MDDS, which progresses rapidly and can lead to death within a few months. There is currently no known cure.

Gard developed normally for the first two months of his life, but by mid-October, he was on life support at the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London. Today, at eleven months old, Charlie is unable to breathe without a ventilator, open his eyes, hear, eat unassisted, or move his limbs. His heart and kidneys are failing, and he suffers from persistent severe seizures.

What Can Be Done?

His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, want him to undergo an experimental treatment called nucleoside therapy, which has shown some success in treating mitochondrial disease in laboratory mice.

The therapy was used in Baltimore on Arturito Estopinan, a boy suffering from TK2-related mitochondrial depletion system. His father, Art Estopinan, met with Gard and Yates and discussed the treatment. According to him, while the treatment is by no means a cure, Arturito is “getting stronger every day.”

The video below goes into more detail about Estopinan’s treatment.

The treatment has never been used on mice or humans suffering from RRM2B MDDS and it is currently unavailable in the U.K.

According to the family’s GoFundMe page, a doctor in the U.S. accepted Charlie into the treatment program of their own hospital. So far, the family has received over 1.3 million euros in donations to get Charlie to the U.S. and pay for the treatment.

The Court Battle

The doctors at GOSH, however, are opposed to the idea. Although they applied for and received ethical permission to treat Charlie with nucleoside therapy, the baby’s condition had worsened so drastically by that time that they decided against moving forward with the treatment. The view is that his brain damage is too severe for treatment to be of any help, and that it would be kinder to let Charlie die with dignity. Against the parents’ wishes, they planned to take Charlie off life support, court documents show.

In the U.K., when parents and doctors disagree over the treatment of a sick child, the courts step in. Gard’s case went to the High Court, with Justice Francis presiding. On April 11, he ruled, “with the heaviest of hearts” that the hospital “may lawfully withdraw all treatment, save for palliative care,” and that it was in Charlie’s best interest not to undergo the experimental therapy. The Court of Appeals upheld the decision on May 25. The Supreme Court reviewed the case on June 8 but ultimately agreed with the lower court’s ruling. The family’s lawyers then petitioned the European Court of Human Rights, but on June 27, the court rejected the plea and ruled that Charlie’s life support would be turned off on June 30. GOSH later extended the deadline after Gard and Yates posted a video message blasting the hospital for not allowing them to take their son home to die.

The World Weighs In

Before the extension was announced, Pope Francis tweeted a message of support to the Gard family:

To defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 30, 2017

There may not have been any names, but papal spokesperson Greg Burke clarified the pope’s meaning the next day by retweeting the message and adding #CharlieGard.

“The Holy Father follows with affection and commotion the situation of Charlie Gard, and expresses his own closeness to his parents,” Burke said in a statement. “He prays for them, wishing that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end will be respected.”

In addition, the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome asked to have Charlie Gard transferred there, but representatives from GOSH refused due to legal reasons.

The pope’s tweet may have come as a response to the Pontifical Academy for Life, which put out its own statement three days prior. While supportive of Gard and Yates, the statement, signed by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, vacillates between middle-of-the-road and sympathetic to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. “The proper question to be raised […] is this: what are the best interests of the patient? We must do what advances the health of the patient, but we must also…avoid aggressive medical procedures that are disproportionate to any expected results,” the statement reads. The Academy’s words raised eyebrows and ire across the board.

Whether rebuking his fellows or not, the pope is not alone in his support for the family’s efforts. Three days later, on July 3, President Donald Trump weighed in on the case:

If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017

The tweet brought Gard’s case to America’s attention and raised support among the president’s fellow pro-life conservatives. An unnamed U.S. hospital offered Gard free treatment. Congressmen Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Trent Franks (R-Arizona) have promised to introduce a bill to give Charlie Gard lawful permanent resident status in the United States when Congress returns from recess. Rev. Patrick Mahoney–a pro-life evangelical preacher and president of the Christian Defense Coalition–flew to the U.K. last week as a self-appointed spokesperson for the Gard family. He claims to have met with a senior White House official beforehand and says he is currently keeping President Trump updated on the case.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May voiced support for the hospital, saying, “I am confident that GOSH have and always will consider any offers of new information that has come forward for the well-being of a desperately ill child.” Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson agrees. In a conversation with his Italian counterpart, Johnson said it is “right that decisions continued to be led by expert medical opinion, supported by the courts.”

Vice President Mike Pence referred to Charlie’s case during an interview on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show on Monday, adding fuel to the fire in an entirely different way. “We hope and pray that little Charlie Gard gets every chance,” he said, “but the American people ought to reflect on the fact that for all the talk on the left about single-payer, that’s where it takes us.”

Back in Court

On July 7, GOSH applied to the High Court for a new hearing in light of other doctors’ claims that the treatment may help Gard. While not changing its views on the treatment or its effect on Charlie, the hospital acknowledged statements made by doctors in the United States and Vatican hospitals and is willing to explore the claims that the treatment would benefit Charlie.

The following Sunday, Gard and Yates presented a 350,000-signature petition urging the hospital to allow their son to travel to the U.S. for treatment.

The July 10 preliminary hearing, prior to Judge Francis’ above ruling, was fraught with emotion, including an outburst from Chris Gard. “When are you going to start telling the truth?” he screamed at the lawyer representing the hospital. At a different point, when his own lawyer reported that a U.S. doctor estimated a 10 percent chance of saving Charlie with the experimental treatment, Yates asked the judge, “You would if it was your son, wouldn’t you?” Judge Francis assured her that he would take that into account during Thursday’s hearing. “I don’t think there’s anyone involved who wouldn’t want to save Charlie,” he added.

Two hours into Thursday’s hearing, there was another altercation between the judge and the parents. When Judge Francis paraphrased the parents’ earlier comments about not wanting their son to live if there were no prospect of improvement, Yates shouted, “I never said that” and reiterated that she did not think Charlie was suffering. She and her husband then stormed out of the courtroom but returned an hour later.

On Friday, Judge Francis said that Dr. Michio Hirano, a specialist in neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center, will evaluate Gard before the court makes its decision. According to  The Mirror, a lawyer for GOSH stated the hospital invited Dr. Hirano to see Charlie back in January, but the visit never happened. In addition, Dr. Hirano reportedly never saw Charlie’s medical records or MRI scans, only summaries. He did, however, claim in his testimony (via video link) that Charlie has somewhere between an 11 and 56 percent chance of improving with the therapy. Judge Francis then determined that Dr. Hirano should travel to the U.K. and assess Charlie in person. He arrived early last week and met with several of Charlie’s GOSH caregivers and other specialists, including a doctor from the Vatican Children’s Hospital.

Judge Francis hopes to give his final verdict by July 25.

Conclusion

What started as one family’s tragedy has become a worldwide phenomenon. A combination of public appeals through social media and support from high-profile individuals has put Charlie and his family in the spotlight. It is difficult to say, though, whether or not this attention will help them in the end. Many cynical observers have wondered if politicians are taking advantage of the Gard family’s situation to push their own agendas. A variety of issues–from health care to government overreach to the right to life–will be shaken by the case’s final verdict. For now, though, Charlie remains on life support, and the world joins his parents in watching over him.

Delaney Cruickshank

Delaney Cruickshank is a Staff Writer at Law Street Media and a Maryland native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in History with minors in Creative Writing and British Studies from the College of Charleston. Contact Delaney at DCruickshank@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Breaking Down the Charlie Gard Treatment Controversy appeared first on Law Street.

Cardinal George Pell has been charged with multiple sexual assault allegations by Australian authorities. Pell is the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church to be implicated in the child abuse scandal that has tarnished the church’s reputation throughout the past few decades.

Pell is accused of “historical sexual assault offenses.” These include at least two men who have come forward and described Pell inappropriately touching them at a swimming pool in the 1970s. Pell denied these allegations after an interview aired on Australian television in 2016 and he has denounced this “relentless character assassination,” according to the Washington Post.

Pope Francis did not release a statement on the issue, but the Vatican said that it feels “great regret” over the situation and that the Pope has appreciated what Pell did during his three years in Rome, according to the Washington Post.

Pell is set to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 18. The magistrate will decide next week whether not to release the details of the investigation, according to BBC.

While he has repeatedly said he will fully cooperate with the investigation, Pell has also strongly denied the accusations. The Pope has granted him a leave of absence to fight the charges, according to BBC. Pell said that he would make the trip back to Australia if his doctor permits it. Last year doctors would not permit him to fly back to Australia last year so he answered questions from detectives via videochat.

“I’m looking forward finally to having my day in court,” Pell said. “I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”

Pell, an adviser to the Pope and Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy, is a native of Ballarat, Australia, and was the Archbishop of Melbourne and then Sydney before becoming a cardinal in 2004. Named the head of the Vatican’s finances in 2014, Pell is considered the third most powerful person in the church.

In the past decade Pell has played a prominent role on Vatican commissions created to combat sexual assault within the Roman Catholic community. In 2013 he was named one of eight cardinals charged with investigating ways to reform the church, according to CNN. However, he has also been criticized for his lack of impact on the investigations and supposed connections with known child-abusing priests.

Because of his powerful position within the Vatican and the Australian Catholic community, it is possible that these allegations will be the biggest obstacle the church faces when it comes to combatting child abuse. Peter Saunders, a British abuse survivor who served on a papal commission investigating the abuse, told the Washington Post:

[These charges] will probably rock the Vatican like nothing else has ever done…The fact that one of the pope’s right-hand men, the secretary for the economy, has in a sense been arrested and will be charged with such serious offenses, that surely has got to have some kind of effect on the Vatican and the hierarchy.

So, the coming months will be telling for how the Pope and the Catholic Church respond to the accusations against Pell and the recurring issues with abuse within the church. While they’ve dealt with past scandals within the Vatican and in other branches, such a high profile conviction brings with it new challenges in addition to worldwide attention. Pope Francis has made it one of his goals to cleanse the church of child abuse and this will likely set him back.

Josh Schmidt

Josh Schmidt is an editorial intern and is a native of the Washington D.C Metropolitan area. He is working towards a degree in multi-platform journalism with a minor in history at nearby University of Maryland. Contact Josh at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Melania Trump’s recent attire for a visit with Pope Francis has garnered a bit of controversy, as she joins her husband on his first foreign tour as president of the United States.

While visiting the Vatican Wednesday, both the first lady and first daughter Ivanka Trump adhered to the traditional dress code for a private papal audience at the Vatican.

Melania donned a mantilla, the lace veil traditionally worn in the Roman Catholic Church, and honored the nearby nation of Italy in a demure long-sleeved black dress by Italian fashion label Dolce & Gabanna. Ivanka dressed similarly, wearing a more voluminous sheer veil.

Pope Francis appears to have left a mark on Trump. “Thank you. I won’t forget what you said,” Trump tells the Pope https://t.co/VpBEp8XUPP pic.twitter.com/T796zQXLfH

— CNN (@CNN) May 24, 2017

“Per Vatican protocol, women who have an audience with the Pope are required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing, and a veil to cover the head,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, told CNN.

But when asked why Melania wore a veil at the Vatican but eschewed a headscarf during her visit days earlier in Saudi Arabia, a conservative Muslim country where women are expected to wear head coverings, Grisham said there was no request or requirement for her attire from that country.

Melania isn’t the first first lady to forgo a headscarf in the Middle East, but her decision, however, directly contradicts her husband’s criticism of former first lady Michelle Obama, who chose not to wear one during her visit in 2015. President Donald Trump was quick to chastise the move at the time, tweeting:

Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted.We have enuf enemies

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2015

Obama also wore a black veil and a black dress when she met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2009.

Despite foregoing the headscarf, Melania still received rave reviews from local Saudi Arabian press for her “classy” and “conservative” outfit.

According to CNN, Melania prepared extensively, with the help of State Department officials, on the proper protocol and customs for each of the stops on the foreign trip.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Controversy After Melania Trump Covers Hair at the Vatican, But Not in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Law Street.

At a Sistine Chapel mass on Sunday, Pope Francis baptized 28 babies. Understandably, this took a while, and as some of the babies in the chapel started crying, the pope encouraged mothers to breastfeed and not be scared of judgment. Acknowledging the crying babies, he joked that the concert had begun and that Jesus did the same when he was born. “And if your children are crying because they are hungry, then go ahead and feed them, just as Mary breastfed Jesus,” he added.

The Pope encourages women to breastfeed during a Sistine Chapel service interrupted by babies crying. pic.twitter.com/tbuc2E7jtU

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) January 9, 2017

The pope did something similar at the same event two years ago, when as many as 33 babies were baptized. To many women, this was an encouraging and welcome act of empathy.

Simply put, breastfeeding should be part of daily life around the globe. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. Glad Pope Francis sees this too. https://t.co/xiTgmxG4j7

— Kate Maxwell (@Kaker82) January 8, 2017

And for some women in other countries, this wasn’t news or controversial at all.

@AFP Pope telling women to breastfeed even in church…what makes this news ? In my part of the world, we have always done it. No news here.

— E. W. Gichuhi (@GichuhiEmma) January 8, 2017

Pope Francis has gained a reputation as a modern and empathic pope with some controversial opinions. He tries to behave like a “normal guy,” by paying his own bills at hotels, joking around with his cardinals, and staying in a two-room apartment instead of the papal palace. But even though he is the head of the Catholic Church and his words should be recognized, there are many examples of women in America facing discrimination for attempting to breastfeed in a church.

Mary Kate Dempsey was nursing her baby in a church in Michigan when an usher asked her to leave because her behavior was “inappropriate.” Another woman had the same experience in Georgia. And parenting blogger Mary Fischer listed the church as one place where moms need to be discreet with their breastfeeding. She suggests covering the breast—and with that, the baby—with a piece of cloth, which many babies hate.

It is clear that both the church and our society have a long way to go until breastfeeding is seen as a completely natural part of everyday life. But the pope’s words hopefully go a long way.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Pope Francis to Women: It’s Okay to Breastfeed in Church appeared first on Law Street.

Pope Francis has received accolades from around the world regarding his message of tolerance and his commitment to opening the Catholic church to populations that were historically excluded. However, there is a shadow hanging over his tenure that has yet to be fully addressed: decades of sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests that have come to light over the past decade.

Pope Francis has publicly condemned the perpetrators but has also been criticized for not doing more to renounce the culture of turning a blind eye to sexual abuse. This weekend, one of Pope Francis’ most trusted advisers, Cardinal George Pell, former Archbishop of Sydney, was asked to reckon with the consequences of participating in that culture. In Rome, Pell is known as the Secretariat of the Economy and has led sweeping reforms of the traditional Vatican system but in the city of Ballarat, Australia, Pell has become a household name for a much more sinister reason.

Pell provided testimony in Rome this weekend regarding an alleged cover-up of a sexual abuse scandal in Australia. Victims of clerical sexual assault claim that Pell knowingly let pedophile priests escape legal punishment and continue to assault numerous children throughout Australia. One of the most chilling examples of abuse comes from Ballarat, a town where dozens of survivors have stepped forward over the past five years, after decades of abuse. Read on for an introduction to the Ballarat abuse scandal.

Abuse in Ballarat

Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2015, 14 Catholic priests have been accused of sexual abuse. Survivors provided testimony in 2015, citing abuse that spanned from the 1960s to the 1990s. Multiple abuse victims from Ballarat committed suicide before they ever saw their day in court, but those who did presented names, dates, and precise details about their abusers. The most prolific offender was Gerald Ridsdale, who was accused of over one hundred acts of abuse. Ridsdale pleaded guilty in 2006 to 35 charges of assault but many victims felt that his sentence of a maximum of thirteen years in jail was too lenient.

Cardinal Pell has been accused of moving Ridsdale from parish to parish for two decades rather than reporting his activities to law enforcement or removing him from the Church entirely. David Ridsdale, who was abused by his uncle, has stated that he attempted to speak about his abuse in 1993 but was silenced by Cardinal Pell. After David Ridsdale reported his uncle, Pell allegedly replied “I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet.” Pell has stated that he never bribed either Ridsdale or his family, but that accusation was bolstered by testimony from another witness who cited Pell brushing off a report of sexual abuse at St. Patrick’s College. The Royal Commission that is overseeing the abuse cases in Ballarat has discovered that abuse committed by several other priests was reported to their superiors but each time, the abuse was ignored and the priests were either moved to different parishes or sent on “treatment” trips.

Pell was summoned to give evidence in Melbourne earlier this year, but his legal team declared he was not healthy enough to fly and instead organized a video-conference from Rome. Upon realizing that Pell would not be coming to Australia, a national crowd-funding campaign was launched to fly Australian sexual abuse victims to Rome to speak with Pell face-to-face. The campaign raised over $200,000 in a matter of days, which paid for the travel expenses of 14 victims and their advisors. The stage was set for a significant confrontation between the upper echelon of the Catholic hierarchy and the survivors whose stories were denied for most of their lives.

Controversial Coverage 

The controversy over Pell has led to significant rifts in public discourse. Columnist Andrew Bolt, who calls himself a close friend of Pell, wrote a piece earlier this month claiming that Pell is an innocent man who has become the target of a national “witch hunt.” Bolt argues that public opinion has turned harshly against Pell, who he considers to be an advocate for sexual abuse victims. Bolt describes how Pell has met with abuse victims in the past and how, in 1996, Pell founded the Melbourne Response initiative, which was tasked with investigating sexual abuse allegations made against priests.

However, questions have been raised about how independent the Melbourne Response has been during its tenure, especially after a controversial “60 Minutes” interview (featured below) that explored Pell’s involvement in the Ballarat cases. Bolt also accused reporter Lucie Morris-Marr of launching a smear campaign against Pell after she reported that police were investigating reports that Pell himself had abused children. Morris-Marr defended her story, arguing that she published the piece after a thorough investigation with no intention of libel. Multiple news outlets picked up Morris-Marr’s piece, which led the Victoria police to announce a crackdown on leaking information to the media, even though the police have not formally acknowledged if they are investigating Pell for abuse. Cardinal Pell denied the allegations, but as press attention shifts towards his testimony in Rome this weekend, they may resurface in the coming days.

Pell has not yet been formally charged with obstructing justice or failing to report abuse but there are already calls for his resignation. Victims of the Ballarat abuse scandal have already named the priests who assaulted them and some, such as Ridsdale, have already received sentences, but many argue that the rift between these survivors and the Catholic Church will not be truly healed unless Pell is asked to accept responsibility for his failure to remove these priests.

Other Vatican Controversies Over Abuse

Ballarat is not the only parish where reports of sexual abuse have allegedly been swept under the rug. In 2011, a 1997 letter from Vatican leadership was released to the public.  The letter told Irish bishops not to report suspicions of child abuse to the police, but instead to handle abuse as they saw fit under canonical religious law. The letter came as a response to a 1996 initiative of “mandatory reporting” that Irish priests enacted to identify sexual abuse within the church.

There is also criticism over a recently released Vatican document that holds that even though bishops should be aware of local legal procedures, they are not obligated to report clerical child abuse to law enforcement. The document was part of training program for new bishops and was written by Tony Anatrella, a consultant to the Pontifical Council on the Family. The Guardian reports that

While acknowledging that ‘the church has been particularly affected by sexual crimes committed against children,’ the training guide emphasizes statistics that show the vast majority of sexual assaults against children are committed within the family and by friends and neighbors, not other authority figures.

Anatrella’s training document was published just a few days after Peter Saunders, a British victim of abuse serving on the papal advisory commission on clerical sexual assault, was forced out of his position via a vote of no confidence. The vote of no confidence came after Saunders was accused of being difficult to work with and too familiar with the media. The commission announced publicly that Saunders would be taking a leave of absence but Saunders told the press that he had no knowledge of that decision and that he refuses to step down unless Pope Francis officially asks him to. Saunders has been critical of the commission since it was formed two years ago, but as one of two survivors appointed to the commission by Pope Francis, his presence was considered an important victory for victims who want to participate in the discussion. His removal, whether or not it gets Pope Francis’ stamp of approval, may be viewed as a significant step backward in creating open dialogue and building trust between abuse survivors and the bureaucracy of the church.

Conclusion

The sexual abuse that Catholic priests engaged in for decades around the world is a heinous crime not only in its nature but because of the sheer scale on which it was committed. It is not only the priests who abused children who must be held accountable in court, it is also their superiors who ignored allegations of sexual assault over extended periods of time. The last decade has seen a sharp rise in victims coming forward, sharing their stories and formally testifying in court about their experiences, which will hopefully hold the Church accountable for its actions. As Pope Francis tries to usher in a new brand of Catholicism, investigations like the Ballarat case serve as a constant reminder of exactly how much reform is still needed to redress the past crimes. Pell’s testimony in Rome this weekend may not have deviated from the statements he made last year during the investigation conducted by Australia’s Royal Commission but the attention that the conference has garnered has put Pell in the spotlight, not just in Australia, but on the world stage.

Resources

New York Times: After Criticism, Pope Francis Confronts Priestly Sexual Abuse

New York Times: Vatican Letter Warned Bishops on Abuse Policy

LA Times: Catholic Sex Abuse Hearing Will Take Place in the Dead of Night in a Hotel in Rome

The Age: Ballarat Abuse Survivors Head to Rome to see Cardinal George Pell Give Evidence

The Age: Victoria Police Refer Leak of Investigation into Cardinal George Pell to IBAC

ABC: Child Abuse Sex Inquiry: Bishop Paul Bird Denies as Many as 14 Ballarat Priests Involved in Abuse as Hearings Wrap Up

The Guardian: George Pell Tried to Bribe Abuse Victim, Royal Commission Hears

The Guardian: Ballarat Priests Involved in Child Sex Abuse sSent on ‘Treatment’ Trips, inquiry told

FT: Australia Clerical Sex Abuse Victims Travel to Rome

Herald Sun: Cardinal George Pell is the Victim of a Vicious Witch Hunt

News.Com.Au: 60 Minutes Reporter Tara Brown Digs Deep into George Pell’s Melbourne Response

Reuters: Critic of Vatican Refuses to Step Down from Sex Abuse Commission

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Reckoning in Rome: A Look at the Ballarat Abuse Scandal appeared first on Law Street.

On Monday, while touring Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, Pope Francis gave a heartfelt speech to a crowded mosque where he spoke of unity saying, “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” However, it wasn’t the speech that resonated most with people, but the photo of him speaking that went viral.

An image of the Pope gesturing while cupping a microphone quickly began to circulate social media, and it didn’t take long before users started saying the picture looked like the pope was prepping to spit a few rap bars.

Cue #PopeBars.

People quickly started using the picture and the trending hashtag to showcase some of their favorite papal-themed rap lyrics–and yes, they were hilarious. So without further ado, check out the slideshow below for ten of the top papal-themed rap lyrics from the hashtag.

#PopeBars I like it when you call me Big Papal (Throw your hands in the air, if youse a true pray-er) pic.twitter.com/tBiEUXCFMx

— BigHeadSports (@BigHeadSports) November 30, 2015

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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