Pope Francis hails priests, health workers as 'the saints next door'
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Holy Thursday hailed priests and medical staff who tend to the needs of Covid-19 patients as “the saints next door.”
Last year, he performed the ritual washing on the feet of 12 inmates at a prison near Rome. The ritual re-enacts Jesus' washing the feet of his 12 Apostles at their last supper before he was crucified. Looking weary and speaking in a subdued voice, Francis also expressed dismay that priests have been insulted or slandered because of scandals in the Catholic Church involving pedophile members of the clergy.
Earlier in the week, Australia's highest court dismissed the convictions of Cardinal George Pell for allegedly sexually abusing children. A former top papal aide, Pell spent 13 months in prison in his native Australia. Francis didn't mention him or cite a specific case in his remarks.
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