Pope Francis speaks of ‘light and shadow’ in
healthcare sector
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday spoke about the
situations of “light and shadow” in the healthcare sector, thanking God for the
“many healthcare professionals who live their work like a mission, with
knowledge and conscience”.
The Holy Father’s words came in an address to the
participants in a meeting promoted by the Charity and Health Commission of the
Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) organized for the occasion of the 25th World
Day for the Sick (11 February).
Pope Francis told the group of Italian healthcare
professionals that there have been many social and cultural changes in the
years since Pope St. John Paul II instituted the World Day of the Sick in 1992.
He said that today we see “a situation with lights and
shadows”.
Regarding the “lights” in the field of healthcare, the Holy
Father said, “Scientific research has certainly advanced and we are grateful
for the precious results obtained for curing, if not defeating, some
pathologies.”
He praised God for the missionary zeal of healthcare
professionals who “are participants in the effusive love of the Creator God;
with their hands they daily touch the suffering flesh of Christ”. He also
expressed his joy for the numerous volunteers who seek “to relieve and humanize
the long and difficult days of many sick and elderly people”.
Pope Francis went on to speak about the “shadows” in
healthcare, which “risk endangering the experience of our sick brothers and
sisters”.
“If there is a sector in which the throwaway culture makes
most visible its painful consequences, it is exactly that of healthcare. When a
sick person is not placed at the center and considered in their dignity,
attitudes arise which can even lead to profiteering on other people’s
misfortunes.”
The Pope made reference to his Message for the 25th World Day for the Sick, saying “In the
first place is the inalienable dignity of every human person from the moment of
conception until their last breath.”
He said monetary concerns should neither dictate political
and administrative decisions, nor the selection of those who manage sanitary
structures.
Pope Francis exhorted healthcare workers to “never hesitate
even to rethink their works of charity in order to offer a sign of the mercy of
God to the poorest who, in trust and hope, knock on the doors of your
structures.”
Finally, the Pope said, “Sick people are precious members of
the Church.”
“May they be strong in their weakness, ‘and receive the
grace to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his
body, which is the Church.’”
Those sufferings, he said, “are forever transfigured by
love.”
(Devin Sean Watkins)
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