Italy: Boy dies after treatment with alternative medicine

SMH

A couple who treated their sick four-year-old son with alternative medicine are being investigated for manslaughter, Italian police have said.

Luca Monsellato was taken to hospital with a high fever and cold symptoms but failed to respond to emergency medical treatment and died.

His parents, Marcello and Giovanna Pantaleo, told doctors they had been treating his apparent three-week cold with fennel tea – a popular homeopathic remedy for coughs – in an attempt to keep his fever under control. They eventually took him to hospital when his condition worsened…

Mr Monsellato, 52, of the southern Italian town of Tricase, close to Lecce, has been a doctor of alternative medicine for more than 20 years. He is honorary president of Italy’s Homeopathic Sinergy Association and an expert on acupuncture.

Feel free to add quote marks around ‘doctor’ and ‘expert’.

US: Catholic group can’t see why they lost funding…

… simply because they refuse to do what they’re paid for.

Bloomberg.

A Catholic group lost a bid to continue providing assistance to victims of human trafficking for what it says may be the Obama Administration’s support for abortion rights…

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was awarded a five- year contract that paid it $19 million to coordinate the services during the administration of President George W. Bush.

The contract was extended briefly in March, and the group said it was informed recently that its grant request to continue the work was turned down. Starting today, three other non-profit groups will provide case-management services for victims such as helping them obtain food, clothing and access to medical care…

The organization, which does not refer clients for abortions or provide contraceptives, has helped more than 2,700 victims of human trafficking since the group was awarded the contract in 2006, Walsh said. She said group leaders told her they don’t know why they didn’t receive a grant.

I’m only a layman, but I would have thought that refusing to provide the service you were hired for was a pretty good reason for someone to stop your funding.