Pope and Trump offer help to parents of UK's terminally ill baby
July 04, 2017 00:09
Pope Francis has called for the parents of terminally-ill Charlie Gard to be allowed to "accompany and treat their child until the end".
Chris Gard and Connie Yates had been expecting their 10-month-old's life support to be turned off on Friday.
But Great Ormond Street Hospital said it will continue Charlie's care to allow the family to spend more time with him.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump tweeted his support on Monday.
He wrote: "If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the UK and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so."
The Vatican said the Pope was following the case "with affection and sadness".
A statement released on Sunday said the Pope wished to "expresses his closeness to his [Charlie's] parents".
"For them he prays, hoping that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end is not ignored," it said.
Charlie is thought to be one of 16 children in the world to have mitochondrial depletion syndrome.
It is a rare genetic condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage because he is unable to get energy to his organs.
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