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Skriven 2006-11-24 13:58:48 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

PROXIMITY TO PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM INFECTIOUS ILLNESS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 24, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received participants
in an international conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Health
Pastoral Care. The conference is being held in the Vatican from November 23 to
25 on the theme: "Pastoral aspects of the treatment of infectious diseases."

The Holy Father recalled how, alongside the generous service and "concrete
gestures of love" shown towards people suffering infectious diseases, there are
also many injustices. "How can we forget," he said, "the many people with
infections illnesses forced into segregation, and sometimes marked by a
humiliating stigma? The seriousness of these lamentable situations is
highlighted by the disparity of social and economic conditions between the
North and South of the world. Such situations must be answered with concrete
initiatives that favor proximity to the sick, enliven the evangelization of
culture, and inspire the social and economic policies of governments."

On the subject of closeness to the sick, Benedict XVI mentioned "the rich
tradition of the Catholic Church," which, he said, "must be kept alive by
exercising charity towards the suffering, so as to ensure the enduring
visibility of values inspired by true humanity and by the Gospel: the dignity
of the individual, mercy, and the identification of the sick with Christ. All
initiatives are inadequate if they do not make love for man perceptible, a love
nourished in the meeting with Christ.

"This irreplaceable proximity to the sick," he added, "must be united to the
evangelization of the cultural environment in which we live." In this context
he mentioned "attitudes of indifference or even of exclusion and rejection,"
which are sometimes shown towards the sick in societies fixated with well-
being. "Such an attitude is also favored by the image projected by the media of
men and women prevalently concerned with physical beauty, health and biological
vitality. This is a dangerous cultural tendency that encourages people to focus
on self, to close themselves in their own little world, and to avoid committing
themselves to serving those in need."

The Holy Father emphasized the necessity "for a form of pastoral care capable
of helping the sick bear their suffering, helping them transform their
condition into an occasion of grace for themselves and others, through living
participation in the mystery of Christ."

Finally, Benedict XVI underlined the importance of "collaborating with various
public institutions in order to ensure that social justice is practiced in a
delicate field such as that of the care and assistance of people suffering
infectious illness." In this context, he mentioned "the equal distribution of
resources for research and therapy, as well as the promotion of living
conditions that can prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases."
AC/INFECTIOUS DISEASE/... VIS 061124 (460)

SUMMARY

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