REVELATION-final1

DAY 4(Tuesday, 22 April 2014)APPEAL TO POPE FRANCISWe must redo yesterday’s work so we start fresh in the morning with the filming, but not beforegetting on the scales to monitor my weight loss. On the 19 th , when my hunger strike began, Iweighed a respectable 92.5 Kg. In the first 24 hours I had lost 2 kg, mostly water, and by the endof the second day of hunger strike I weighed 90.5 Kg. By the morning of the third day I had lostan additional 1.1 kg and weighed 89.4 Kg. And on this bright and sunny morning the scalesshow that I have lost another 1.2 Kg and now weigh 88.2 Kg.St. Peter’s Square is nowhere near as full as over Easter weekend and this makes the filmingmuch easier as there are fewer distractions and interruptions. The weather is perfect: brilliantlight, blue skies and pleasantly mild.Although I have been communicating by email with several Vatican offices for several weeksnone of my messages have been either acknowledged or answered but none have bounced backor have been blocked either, which tells me that they are listening but for whatever reason theycannot or will not reply. This is the first indication that the Vatican is restricted either by itsobserver status at the UN or by its culpability and perhaps even by its complicity, but I will givethem the benefit of the doubt until such time as I have more evidence one way or another. Itssilence, however, is highly suspect as this is the first characteristic of the system whenconfronted with its own crimes. For the time being, however, I can only assume that the Vaticanis just another head of the Hydra.The tone and text of my video message must nevertheless be respectful and non-confrontationalbut also clear and firm. It must also be short and to the point. To get it right Nick and I do manytakes and try various angles. Little by little we fall into a productive rhythm but we are on ourfeet and on the move all day long.As a reward we grant ourselves a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica where I have the opportunity to seethe one statue that I love above all others, Michelangelo’s Pietà, whose grace fills me withhumility, empathy and love.The only other item on the agenda is finding healthy water to drink. This is particularlyimportant for me since water is the only thing I will be putting in my body during the hungerstrike. I don’t trust the tap water, despite assurances that Rome has excellent water from themountains, and I certainly will not drink anything out of a plastic bottle, which will be infestedwith bisphenol A, or any water that contains fluoride. As it turns out, the stores in Rome carryonly one water that fits the bill, Fiuggi, which, low and behold, is also the water of choice at theVatican.25