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Scientists are working on combo flu and COVID-19 shot, but don’t expect one this fall

February 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — With more scientists predicting COVID-19 boosters will be needed each year, some are now working on combining those with the annual flu vaccine. The idea, experts say, is a single injection given each fall that protects against seasonal flu and COVID-19.

Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Novavax have already announced plans to work on a combo shot, but don’t expect them to be available this upcoming flu season. Instead, Moderna’s CEO saying a combo shot could be ready by 2023.

Although studies indicate COVID-19 vaccine efficacy fades over time, experts say it’s not a foregone conclusion that every American will need an annual COVID-19 booster. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said this week that as of right now, most Americans don’t need a fourth dose (beyond the existing booster shot), but scientists are constantly evaluating the situation.

“I think we first have to assess the long-term need for annual COVID vaccines,” says Dr. Anna Durbin, director of Center for Immunization Research at Johns Hopkins University.

However, “if there is a continued need for COVID vaccines, then combining that with influenza would make sense,” Durbin said.

There are a few technical challenges to creating a combination vaccine. One is that different scientific approaches have been used for the two types of vaccines.

“Right now, the influenza vaccine is a different platform,” said Durbin. The most widely used flu vaccines in the US contain ‘inactivated’ (killed) or attenuated (weakened) virus to trigger an immune response in the body. This differs from mRNA (or messenger RNA) vaccines which teach the body’s cells how to make proteins that trigger immune responses. The result is that they currently have to be given in separate shots.

While two of the three authorized COVID vaccines are based on mRNA technology, previous influenza vaccines have not utilized this technology. But now, Moderna and Pfizer are working on an mRNA flu vaccine.

In addition to differences in technology, an extra challenge is that the most common influenza vaccine in the U.S. is quadrivalent, meaning it is designed to protect against four different flu viruses.

“This means the combined influenza/COVID vaccine would also likely need to be quadrivalent or at least trivalent. That makes the vaccine more complicated,” says Durbin.

Similarly, the rise of new COVID variants may introduce challenges to vaccine development.

This past September, Novavax enrolled people in a Phase 1/2 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immune response of a combination vaccine using Novavax’ seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines which use mRNA, these vaccines use protein subunit technology, which introduces a fragment of the virus into the body that is recognized by the immune system and triggers a response. These have each previously demonstrated strong results as standalone vaccines in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Moderna has also announced that it is developing a single dose vaccine that combines a booster against COVID-19 and a booster against flu, called mRNA-1073. In preclinical studies, Moderna has observed that its seasonal flu and COVID-19 booster vaccines can be combined into one dose that produces an immune response to both viruses.

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel predicted this combo shot could be available in 2023 — not in time for this upcoming flu season, but potentially the following year.

“I think it makes a lot of sense to try to develop these vaccines, but it may take a bit of time,” Durbin said.

Aiya Aboubakr is an internal medicine resident at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

LGBTQ youth fight back against Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

February 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — When CJ Walden heard the news that some Florida classrooms would limit LGBTQ topics under a proposed bill in the state legislature, first he felt shock. Then, the pain set in.

“This bill will lead to more pain, depression and suicide and self-harm,” CJ told ABC News. He is the vice president of Florida-based youth LGBTQ activism group PRISM. “To make students have to hide who they really are will just make our schooling experience more challenging for them.”

Stories and histories about people like CJ — a gay, 17-year-old boy — would not be allowed to be taught in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade if the legislation, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is implemented, limiting classroom curriculum on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“They won’t know who they are, they won’t be able to express themselves,” CJ said about students in classrooms where these lessons are banned.

So, many LGBTQ students, including CJ, are fighting back with protests, letter-writing campaigns and confrontations with the lawmakers themselves.

Maxx Fenning, the 19-year-old president of PRISM who attends the University of Florida, went to Tallahassee, the state capital, with a group of students from South Florida to speak to legislators about the damage they say this bill will cause.

“I really think this sends a message to students, to staff, to our community, that there is something wrong with being gay or that is something that is too taboo to be discussed and that we are something that should be in the shadows,” Fenning said. “That is so dehumanizing. That’s so demeaning.”

Rep. Joe Harding, who introduced the bill, told ABC News podcast “Start Here” that teachers and students can still discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in their classrooms, there just can’t be a curriculum or lessons on it.

The Gender Sexuality Alliance in CJ’s South Florida school is organizing a letter-writing campaign to spell out the ways in which they believe this bill would be harmful.

“Me and my other fellow GSA members did feel a little powerless when we first heard about this bill,” CJ said.

“Lawmakers need to know that this is not a game that they are playing, they are going to be causing severe, severe consequences if this bill passes,” CJ said, referring to the higher rates of mental illness, suicide and substance abuse issues LGBTQ youth face due to harassment, isolation and victimization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across the state, students of all ages are also taking to the streets in protest of this law. Students from the University of Florida and St. Johns County schools and protesters from the LGBTQ education advocacy group Safe Schools South Florida have already marched and rallied in protest, according to local reports from ABC affiliate WCJB and the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

LGBTQ activist groups across the state, including the ACLU of Florida, plan to continue fighting. It is helping critics of the bill send letters to local legislators in protest.

“The government should never have the power to censor and control classroom and school discussions,” the organization said in a statement against the bill. “Yet, the leadership of the state legislature is fast-tracking an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that would do just that.”

Activists have likened the bill to a gag order or to the “No Promo Homo” laws of the 1990s that barred educators from discussing queer topics in schools.

While the bill would ban lessons concerning gender or sexual orientation in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade, it would also not allow them when it is age-inappropriate or not in line with state standards.

However, standards on gender and sexual identity have yet to be carved out, according to Harding.

The legislation allows parents to sue schools or teachers that teach on these topics.

The bill passed the state House of Representatives on Thursday. It has not yet passed the state Senate or been approved by the governor.

Harding said he wants parents to be involved in the decision-making of these discussions.

“Families are families. Let the families be families, and the school district doesn’t need to insert themselves at that point when children are still learning how to read and do basic math,” he told “Start Here.”

But LGBTQ youth activists say representation and inclusion can help students feel accepted — or learn to be accepting — from a young age.

“Regardless of whether this bill passes or not, gay kids and trans kids are still going to be in schools, are still going to be experiencing being gay and being trans,” Fenning said. “The only difference is that they’re not going to be able to talk about it.”

Why ‘stand your ground’ laws may be connected to higher homicide rates

February 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — “Stand your ground laws,” have proliferated around the country after they were first introduced in Florida in 2005, with proponents contending that they’ve kept neighborhoods safer.

A study released this week, however, has found that those laws, which give gun holders the right to use their weapon in public in self-defense are actually associated with an increase in firearms homicides.

The peer-reviewed report issued by the JAMA Network Open found that the monthly gun homicide rate rose 8-11% in 23 states after they enacted the laws, amounting to roughly 58 to 72 additional homicides a month in these locations.

The increase in homicides was greatest in southern states that first passed the legislation — Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Missouri — ranging from 16.2% to 33.5% after the laws were passed according to the study.

“There was no evidence that [stand your ground] laws were associated with decreases in homicide or firearm homicide,” the report said. But the report did find that some states, including Arizona and Texas, did not have any significant increases in homicides after the laws were passed.

Researchers did not provide any conclusion as to why the “stand your ground” laws were associated with the rise in killings. The report cautioned that “stand your ground” laws alone may not be sufficient to explain the increase and said other factors, such as other firearms laws, had to be considered.

A gun control advocate who has been analyzing shooting data contended the laws have motivated some to act like vigilantes.

Sarah Burd-Sharps, director of research for the non-profit group Everytown for Gun Safety, told ABC News the laws have emboldened some gun owners to shoot first and ask questions later, because they think they are criminally immune during a conflict.

“We’ve seen it time and time again. They encourage people to continue aggression even in situations where violence is avoidable,” she told ABC News.

The report looked at public health data on deaths from 41 states, 23 of which enacted “stand your ground” laws between Jan. 1, 2000, and Dec. 31, 2016. The data showed that during that period there were 129,831 firearm homicides in the “stand your ground” states while there were 40,828 recorded in the other states.

States that passed “stand your ground” laws saw their monthly gun homicide rates jump from 0.36 per 100,000 to 0.39 after the laws were enacted, the study said. In the states that didn’t have “stand your ground” laws, the firearm homicide rate was 0.19 per 100,000 people, according to the data.

The report found that the monthly firearm homicide rate grew from 1.03 per 100,000 to 1.12 per 100,000 for victims who were minorities in “stand your ground” states after the laws were enacted. By comparison, the monthly gun homicide rate for white victims remained level at 0.2 per 100,000 people after the laws were enacted in those states, the report said.

The study’s authors were not immediately available for comment.

Burd-Sharps said some gun owners have used “stand your ground” to justify their biases against minorities or certain communities. She cited the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, both of whom were unarmed Black men who were shot by perpetrators claiming they were breaking the law, as examples.

Martin was shot in Florida 10 years ago while Arbery was shot in Georgia two years ago. Both states have “stand your ground” laws and there is no duty by a gun holder to retreat.

“‘Stand your ground’ laws allow people to shoot people who they perceive a threat,” Burd-Sharps said.

Some lawmakers have contended that “stand your ground” laws supplement existing self-defense laws and provide law-abiding gun owners with an option in dire circumstances, such as a mugging.

“In these situations, you don’t always have time to decide if you could safely retreat or not,” said Arkansas state Rep. Aaron Pilkington, when presenting a bill that passed last year that would allow an armed person to use deadly force if they believe they are in imminent danger.

Burd-Sharps said that most Americans don’t realize that traditional self-defense laws are pretty comprehensive and have prevented unnecessary shootings for years.

“[Self-defense law] includes the use of deadly force but that is only as a last resort. You have the right to walk away,” she said. “When you teach kids how to respond in times of conflict, one of the things you teach is how to walk away. That’s critical for adults as well.”

Following the report’s release, Everytown announced Thursday that it created a task force of state and federal leaders who are looking to repeal and modify existing stand your ground laws. The task force, which has 20 members from 19 states, will also work to prevent the passage of bills that mimic current “shoot first,” laws, according to Everytown’s founder Shannon Watts.

“We must reframe the debate,” she said during a news conference Thursday.

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.

COVID-19 pandemic forces a nationwide reckoning for American churches on how to safely reopen

February 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Since the start of the pandemic, in-person church attendance dropped a staggering 45% nationwide, according to an ABC analysis of churches across more than 3,000 U.S. counties from cellular phone data provided by Safegraph.

For the past two years, many congregations have turned to virtual services to stay connected.

“The phenomenon of ‘pancake church’ thrived during the pandemic — eat pancakes and watch church on TV,” said Dr. Brent Taylor, senior pastor at First Baptist Church at The Fields in Carrollton, Texas.

But church leaders suggest that for most, all-virtual services are not sustainable in the long term, because the current situation is draining churches financially and dampening the experience for many. Church leaders tell ABC News people are more likely to donate when at in-person services. Also, the morale of the community is negatively impacted without the human interaction that comes with people physically attending services, they say.

Recently, many churches are starting to bounce back with a hybrid model — a mix of in-person and virtual worship — with some faith leaders seeing congregation numbers growing once again and new parishioners come to their churches.

“Attendance was smaller at the beginning and these numbers have risen to where we currently are to pre-pandemic level but we are still also offering virtual services,” Taylor added.

Faith leaders must grapple with the risks of in-person worship, while also reckoning with the politicization of vaccinates and mask mandates. Many are still struggling, their challenges unique depending on the demographics of their local communities.

“We don’t have a playbook here, we don’t have a precedent,” said Dr. Terence Rhone, national director of pulmonology for the Care More Health Plan and pastor of Mt. Sinai Church of God in Christ near Los Angeles.

Furthermore, the data showed there were differences in attendance within the counties with different predominant religious affiliations. Ten small Southern counties — and the nation’s only predominantly Black Protestant counties — lost 62% of its in-person worshipers during the nearly two-year period. That was the largest attendance loss among counties with a majority of worshippers of a particular religious affiliation.

But at the same time, attendance dropped only 43% in Southern counties where residents were predominantly Evangelical Protestant. These patterns suggest that in addition to regional, cultural and accessibility biases, differences in church doctrine about faith and medicine or church attendance policies may have also been a factor in sanctuary worship during the pandemic.

While some churches are now experiencing more of their parishioners returning to the pews, others have had no choice but to close their doors permanently.

“Pastors are feeling the impact of this pandemic and they’re just being driven to a point of exhaustion, both mentally and emotionally,” said Rhone.

The lack of or limit in attendance cuts much needed revenue to keep churches open, especially those with few members. Add to that the constant debates on which practical and affordable health safety protocols to implement, recurrent case surges and updates to health recommendations creates a crucible of challenges for churches.

“I am seeing pastors quitting ministry because they are exhausted and tired of political fights,” said Taylor.

For those seeking to return to in-person services, new variant-fueled surges are compelling religious leaders to evaluate how to gather safely. Some worship leaders have implemented mandate masks, social distancing and limits on the number of people who can attend in-person. Others have their choir members get tested prior to singing their hymns on Sunday morning and others are installing systems to improve ventilation in their sanctuaries.

These new approaches to attend church in person are being welcomed by some members.

“The COVID mitigation some churches have put in place have made parishioners comfortable,” said churchgoer Latasha Barnes, describing her experience returning to in-person worship. She chose to return to in-person rather than attend virtually, because she wanted to feel more engaged.

“When you first come in you have a mask ready, everyone gets their temperature checked and hand sanitizers throughout the church. We even seat by family to minimize risk and ushers make sure traffic is minimized,” Barnes added.

But church leaders and churchgoers say the return to in-person service can also take an emotional toll, because many members of the congregation have passed away from COVID-19.

“Church is a reminder of people that have died because you don’t see them next to you in the pew,” said Dr. Green, CEO of Family Christian Health Center in Harvey, Illinois.

And church leaders say that due to the ongoing threat, many churches will continue to offer virtual services for their members. The option of worshiping while being in the comforts of one’s own home and remaining safe has been a welcomed alternative for many. This option is becoming more and more popular to the point that some leaders find it as a necessary tool for engagement, especially during the pandemic.

“The future of the church is a hybrid model, I believe, because you’re just going to see more and more people that are following you online, instead of coming to your sanctuary,” said Rhone

Congregation leaders agreed there is a long way to go to determine a “new normal” of worship. Every house of worship will have its specific factors and risks to assess which decisions are the safest. It will take time, but many leaders are still hopeful that public health and science guide decisions that will be made.

Alexis E. Carrington, M.D. is an associate producer at ABC News’ Medical Unit and a rising dermatology resident at George Washington University. Mark Nichols is senior manager of data journalism for ABC News. Dr. Jay Bhatt is an internist, instructor at UIC School of Public Health and an ABC News contributor.

Ukrainian leaders vow to arm themselves as Russian troops close in on Kyiv

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(KYIV, Ukraine) — As Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital Friday and thousands of refugees continued to flee the country, several Ukrainian officials vowed to remain in Kyiv and fight against the aggression.

A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, surrounded by his advisers and wearing combat fatigues, addressed the country while standing outside his office on the streets of central Kyiv.

“We are all here. Our military are here, as are our people and whole society,” Zelenskyy said in a selfie-style video posted to Facebook Friday. “We’re all here defending our independence and our country. And we’ll go on doing that. Glory to our defenders! Glory to Ukraine.”

Hours later, Zelenskyy warned during a televised address that he believed Russian troops would storm the capital overnight.

“The night will be more difficult than the day,” he said, as the sound of shelling and loud booms from airstrikes could be heard over Kyiv.

“We cannot lose Kyiv,” he said.

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and a legendary boxer, also said he will stand and fight for his city alongside his brother Wladimir, also a former heavyweight champion boxer. “I don’t have another choice,” Vitali told “Good Morning Britain” on Thursday.

“Words are followed by missiles and tanks. Destruction and death come upon us. … We will defend ourselves with all our might and fight for freedom and democracy,” Wladimir wrote on Linkedin Thursday.

Several members of Ukraine’s parliament said they were remaining in the city and prepared to defend themselves as Russia’s military continued its attack.

“I’m at the center of Kyiv and I will remain here,” Kira Rudik, the leader of the political party Holos, told CNN Friday.

“I’m a member of parliament and the leader of the party. It is my duty to be here,” she said.

Rudik said she could hear airstrikes as she spoke to CNN, and that she has had to hide in a bomb shelter multiple times since the Russian military launched its attack on Ukraine Thursday morning.

“There is lots of stress and it is not really helping the morale of the people, being under the airstrikes all the time,” she said.

Rudik said she was prepared to “bear arms,” and that she and members of her “crew” had received Kalashnikov assault rifles “so we will be able to resist if Russian forces will come to Kyiv.”

Parliament member Sviatoslav Yurash said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 Friday morning he was “looking at my AK-47 in front of me” as Russian troops closed in on Kyiv.

“We are giving anyone who wants to help Ukraine fight a chance to do that,” he said. “We are arming people who will be taking that fight to the Russians in every way.”

Yurash said the nation of some 40 million people is “not going to just stand idly by,” even as it faces a more powerful military.

“We will fight with everything we have and all the support that the world can provide us,” he said.

A past Ukrainian leader also appeared ready to defend the capital. Former President Petro Poroshenko spoke to CNN Friday from the streets of Kyiv with a Kalashnikov in hand.

He said they didn’t have any heavy artillery, tanks or enough arms for the “long line of people” volunteering to join Ukraine’s civilian territorial defense battalion, but he believed that they could hold out against the Russian aggression “forever.”

“I think that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin never will catch Ukraine … no matter how many soldiers he has, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has,” Poroshenko said. “We Ukrainian are a free people with a great European future.”

The businessman served as president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, when he was defeated by Zelenskyy. Poroshenko returned to Kyiv from Poland last month amid escalating tensions with Russia to face allegations of high treason, which he has denied.

“I will return to Ukraine to fight for Ukraine,” he told reporters last month.

In his latest televised address Friday, Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to “stand firm this night.”

“The fate of Ukraine is at stake right now,” the president said. “Everyone capable of defending — please help our military. Burn down enemy’s tanks and armor with whatever means.”

“The night ahead will be hard, very tough,” he continued. “But there will be dawn after it.”

The warning came as Ukrainian and Russian government officials were working to arrange possible negotiations to end the fighting, a spokesman for Zelenskyy told ABC News.

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Fidel Pavlenko contributed to this report.

Watch Dirty Honey rock in one take in “Another Last Time” video

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Dirty Honey has premiered the video for “Another Last Time,” a track off the band’s self-titled debut album.

The clip, which is shot all in one continuous take, finds the “When I’m Gone” rockers providing the soundtrack to a host of illicit activities, including affairs, robbery, gambling and drug use, all taking place around a seedy motel.

“The song’s lyrics tell the story of a toxic relationship you can’t seem to get out of, and you keep going back for more,” says frontman Marc LaBelle. “But it’s as much a song about any addiction or compulsion, anything you just can’t kick — drugs, money, danger, whatever.”

He adds, “Shooting the video the way we did presented a real challenge, but I think that when you take on doing something special like this and you succeed, you come out with something really great. And I think we did.”

You can watch the “Another Last Time” video streaming now on YouTube.

Dirty Honey is currently traveling the U.S. on the Young Guns tour alongside Mammoth WVH.

Graham Nash discusses his classic songs in Nile Rodgers-hosted podcast, premiering Saturday

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Graham Nash shares stories behind some of his most famous songs in a new episode of the Apple Music 1 podcast Deep Hidden Meaning Radio, hosted by Chic‘s Nile Rodgers, which premieres this Saturday, February 26 at 11 a.m. ET.

As revealed in a preview provided to ABC Audio, one of the tunes Graham spoke about was his classic “Teach Your Children,” which appeared on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young‘s 1970 debut, Déjà Vu.

He explained to Rodgers that the tune was inspired by a famous 1962 Diane Arbus photograph of a boy holding a toy hand grenade in New York’s Central Park.

“[W]hen I was looking at the [photo]…I began to realize that if we didn’t teach our kids a better way of dealing with each other, then humanity itself was kind of screwed,” Nash recalls. “That was the beginning of ‘Teach Your Children.'”

Graham also revealed that in 1989, when he was selling some photo prints, including one of the Arbus photo, a tall young man introduced himself to him and told him he was the boy with the grenade, and shared his memory of his picture being taken that day.

Nash also talked about “Marrakesh Express,” the 1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash hit that he wrote. Graham explained that he first recorded the song with his previous band The Hollies, but he felt that version “absolutely sucked.”

He said that it was his CSN band mate Stephen Stills‘ guitar playing that made “Marrakesh Experess” a great song.

“When you are writing a song about a train, it needs a train,” Graham noted. “It needs urgency, it needs energy, it needs to be tracking right along. And that guitar part that Stephen Stills put on was unbelievable to me.”

The full podcast will stream for free at Apple.com.

Tool announces wide release of ’Fear Inoculum’ deluxe box set

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tool has announced the official release of the band’s Fear Inoculum ultra deluxe box set.

The package, which had previously only been available to purchase at Tool live shows, will be available widely on April 8.

Inside the ultra deluxe, you’ll find the Fear Inoculum album spread over five vinyl LPs, each of which has its own unique etching. It also comes with a booklet of new and never-before-seen artwork.

Pre-orders are open now.

Fear Inoculum was originally released in 2019, ending a 13-year gap between Tool albums. The band’s ongoing tour in support of the record continues Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Tool is also planning to release a new and extended version of “Opiate,” the title track off the band’s 1992 debut EP, on March 1 in honor of its 30th anniversary. Additionally, an accompanying 10-minute short film will be released March 18 exclusively on Blu-ray.

Things you may not know about the NAACP Image Awards

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The NAACP Image Awards were established in 1967, to honor outstanding performances in Black theater, music, literature, film and television. Ahead of Saturday’s ceremony, here are a few bits of information you may or may not know about the “most iconic night in Black excellence”:

– The first show was presented on Feb. 4, 1967 by members of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP branch. Two-hundred guests were welcomed to the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the seasonal ceremony in celebration of their Black peers, friends and colleagues.

– NAACP member Willis Edwards persuaded NBC to broadcast the ceremony for the first time on December 14, 1986. The first live show is said to have aired on FOX in 2007.

– Sidney Poitier, the first Black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, was among the audience during the first ceremony. He was honored with the Hall of Fame award in 2001.

– Beyoncé has the most NAACP Image Award wins in history, with a total of 22 trophies.

– The coveted President’s Award was given to Scandal actress Kerry Washington in 2013. Jay-Z, Rihanna, John Legend and Rev. Jesse Jackson have all received the honor. This year’s recipients are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

– Legendary musician Prince agreed to perform at the 36th awards in 2005, having requested his performance be unedited and uninterrupted. Actress/musician Mary J. Blige is set to perform this year.

– Star of ABC’s Black-ish, Anthony Anderson, will host the show for the ninth consecutive year. He has won seven Lead Actor Image Awards and seven for the show Black-ish.

The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will broadcast live from Los Angeles, Saturday at 8pm ET on BET.

Pope makes surprise visit to Russian Embassy to the Vatican

February 25, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(VATICAN CITY) — The Vatican press office confirmed that Pope Francis made a visit to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to express his concern about the fighting in Ukraine on Friday morning.

The Russian Embassy to the Holy See is a short distance outside of Vatican City situated on the road leading into St. Peter’s Square, and this was seen by most as a strong personal papal initiative.

Aside from saying the visit lasted just over an hour, the Vatican provided no further information nor distributed any video or photographs. The pope was seen leaving the embassy building seated in the front seat of a small, white car.

Ambassador Aleksandr Avdeyev, the Russian diplomat at the embassy, told Russian media that “the pope personally wanted to ask about the situation in Donbas and Ukraine” and expressed his great concern about the humanitarian situation and conditions of the population. He reportedly urged for the care of children, the sick and the people who were suffering.

The pope’s surprise and unprecedented visit to the embassy took many Vatican watchers by surprise, as it is normal protocol for ambassadors to come to the Vatican to meet with the pope. However, Pope Francis has in the past dropped in to see people in Vatican offices outside the walls of the tiny state when he has urgent matters he wishes to discuss.

On Thursday, Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said in a video statement released after the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine that although the tragic scenarios everyone feared were becoming reality “there is still time for goodwill, there is still room for negotiation.” He said he hoped those who hold the destiny of the world in their hands would have a “glimmer of conscience.”

Commentators have noted that the pope and the Vatican have been careful about publicly criticizing and naming Russia, some say, so as not to antagonize the Russian Orthodox Church.

On Wednesday at the end of his general audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis called on believers and nonbelievers to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday to combat the “diabolical insistence, the diabolical senselessness of violence,” saying that “once again the peace of all is threatened by partisan interests.”

He appealed to those with political responsibilities to do a serious examination of conscience before God and urged world leaders to “refrain from any action that would cause even more suffering to the people, destabilizing the coexistence between nations and discrediting international law.”

Earlier Friday, the Vatican press office announced the pope would not make his scheduled one-day trip to Florence Sunday and would have to skip the Ash Wednesday ceremony in the Vatican at the start of Lent due to a flare up of knee pain. His doctors have told him he needs a longer period of rest, but that did not seem to stop him making Friday’s surprise visit.

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