Pontiff Administers Last Rites to ISAF President Croce

Rome, Italy (April 1, 2015) – Pope Francis altered his Holy Week schedule to administer last rites to Carlo Croce, International Sailing Federation (ISAF) President. Croce, fell ill earlier this month en route from Rio de Janeiro to Genoa.

After receiving in-flight emergency medical assistance Croce was removed from the Alitalia Airbus by emergency medical personnel and taken to Gemelli Hospital in Rome where he was treated for severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. Croce had been in Rio de Janeiro to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach to discuss pollution in Guanabara Bay, where the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition is due to be held.

While inspecting Marina da Glória, the Olympic Sailing Venue, Croce slipped on a boat ramp and incurred lesions on his hands and knees. A Gemelli Hospital spokesman, familiar with Croce’s case, confirmed Croce’s wounds as being the source of infection from Klebsiella pneumonia, a ‘drug-resistant’ super bacteria never before encountered at Gemelli Hospital.

A spokesperson from Instito Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil’s most respected health research institute, reported Croce’s case to be the first instance a person has been infected by the contaminated waters. K. pneumonia, commonly found in medical waste, were found in 60% of the samples taken from the Carioca River, which flows into Guanabara Bay.

Pope Francis attended the U.N. Climate Change Summit in Peru in December 2014, where he stated the consequences of climate change represent a serious “moral and ethical responsibility”. The Vatican leader is due to release an encyclical letter later this year, which calls the environment the “ultimate pro-life, pro-poor, pro-family” issue that Christians are called to engage in. The Pontif contends an economic culture that puts money ahead of people is the root of environmental degradation and the inequitable distribution of resources.

The Pope conveyed he and Croce reached an agreement on behalf of the Vatican and ISAF to collaborate on funding the cleanup of Guanabara Bay in advance of the 2016 Olympics. Before the Pope administered Extreme Unction upon the body of Carlo Croce, he received a commitment from Croce that all ISAF council and committee members – kings, queens, princes, and dilettantes included, would tithe to the In The Name of The Father Save the Bay Foundation. The Foundation will be managed by the Vatican Bank and overseen by Christ the Redeemer, Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro.

At the time of this writing, Croce remains in a minimally conscious state, with a urinary tract infection and renal failure. During his intermittent periods of wakefulness he repeatedly states, “Mi perdoni padre perché ho peccato. I never thought it would happen to me.”