MOVIES FOR MALADIES
A new movie theatre in Rome will benefit hospital patients during their treatment. Scheduled to open in March, the cinema, located on the eighth and ninth floors of the Gemelli hospital, is designed to accommodate up to 130 and be accessible for those with limited mobility. It is the result of a partnership between the Gemelli hospital and non-profit association Medicinema with fundraising support from Italian public broadcaster RAI.
JUBILANT SUCCESS
More than a million people have attended the Vatican’s Jubilee events since they began a month ago, announced the Vatican official in charge of the Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy. In an article in Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Rino Fisichella pegged the exact figure at 1,025,000. In other Jubilee news, through an agreement between the government and the Association of Italian Municipalities, the Jubilee of Mercy, which started on December 8, 2015, and runs through November 20, 2016, will also be a ‘Jubilee of light,’ with Italian churches of ‘artistic and cultural value’ specially illuminated for the occasion.
MEDICAL MATTERS
Italian hospital doctors union ANAAO is considering a 48-hour strike in an attempt to persuade the government to focus attention on improving the national health service. Approximately 75 percent of Italy’s health care professionals participated in a strike on December 16, 2015.