“My school is a Catholic school, but I have never felt love from the adults, nor the acceptance that Christ teaches us. And I’m writing this letter because I know that you treat all children equally. Please pray for me and help me find justice.”
With these words written in a letter, a child from Limassol who has been diagnosed with ADHD and a language disorder arrived at the Vatican with his family and handed this letter to the Pope himself.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
It all began when the family’s request for a school aide for their child, who attended a private Catholic school in Limassol, was rejected by the school itself, even though the family was willing to cover all the costs.
The matter was eventually brought before Pope Leo, as well as the two Commissioners—for the Protection of Children’s Rights and for Administration—and the Ministry of Education.
Speaking on the Alpha News program, the child’s mother, Maria Kolious, said she had been working with that particular school for years, as her older child had also attended it.
However, when the school’s administration changed, she felt that the countdown had begun for her child, as “they wanted to expel him,” and this had already been set in motion; and since they couldn’t cite academic reasons, they began citing behavioral issues.
“I tried to cross-check everything they told me with other children, but no other children ever told me that he did this or that. The child even developed gastroesophageal reflux due to anxiety at school. They’d tell him, ‘If you don’t do this in two minutes, you won’t get to go out for recess.’ The child started crying and reacting.”
As her mother said, they sent a message stating that her child “got up from his chair today without asking permission and went to the trash can to spit.” “Well, okay, he went to the trash can to spit—he wasn’t going to swallow his vomit just to get permission,” she said.
At one point, she told the school that since they couldn’t handle the situation, she had no problem providing him with an aide—at her own expense, no less. However, they did not accept this. At first, as Ms. Kolious said, they cited the school’s internal regulations, claiming that the rules did not allow it. However, when she asked for a written copy of the regulations, they refused to provide it.
“The internal regulations were never given to parents when they enrolled their child in the school.”
It eventually came to light, through the complaints and legal proceedings initiated by the mother, that the school simply does not provide special education—and that the issue was not whether it accepts or rejects school aides.
At one point, when she confronted the principal of the private school, the response she received was that if she had a complaint, she should go to the Pope. “Well, okay, that’s what I did,” she added.
“At that time, unfortunately, the Ministry of Education did not support the child as it should have.”
Last year, as the mother noted, the school year began in early September, and the last day the child attended school was November 3, 2025.
“We had this problem in first grade; in second grade, as if by magic, the child had calmed down; in third grade, we had a new teacher, and everything came back—including the gastroesophageal reflux.”
“I’m so hard on myself for letting my child go through all of this for so many years. Now that he’s in public school, he’s doing very well; the only thing he’s missing are his friends. We’re trying to stay in touch… But we’ve been through so much to get to where we are now… We’ve started off a really wonderful year.”
“We had planned a family trip… I sent an email to the Vatican, attaching the reports from the Committee on Administration and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The very next day after we sent the email, we received a positive response. There was an audience with the Pope on August 26 at 9:00 a.m.… and we went.”
The family, however, now intends to take legal action both against the private school that essentially “expelled” him, as the child claims, as well as against the Ministry of Education, and the relevant lawsuit is expected to be filed within the week.
Speaking on the program, the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights, Elena Perikleous, said that the law is clear: Section 13(2) regarding private schools refers to the provision of special education for children, “so the law itself—which takes precedence over any internal school regulations—clearly states the necessity of providing education to children with disabilities and children with special needs. What must be ensured is that internal regulations submitted for approval by the Ministry of Education should not be approved if they exclude children with disabilities. “This was essentially noted in the Office’s report on the entire issue.”
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