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Pope hails Italy virus doctors, nurses as heroes at Vatican

Virus Outbreak Pope Lombardy
Posted at 1:09 PM, Jun 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-20 13:09:40-04

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has welcomed doctors and nurses from the coronavirus-ravaged region of Lombardy to the Vatican to thank them for their selfless work and “heroic” sacrifice.

Francis dedicated one of his first post-lockdown audiences to Italy’s front-line medical personnel Saturday.

He told the delegation that their example of professional competence and compassion would help Italy forge a new future of hope and solidarity.The northern region of Lombardy was the hardest-hit region in the onetime European epicenter of the pandemic.

It has counted more than 92,000 of Italy’s 232,000 infections and half of Italy’s 34,500 dead.  Francis also took a dig at some conservative priests who chafed at lockdown measures, calling their complaints “adolescent.”