Pope Francis met with experts and scholars attending the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences and called for “a free medical system forever”. The Pope emphasized that while fighting the new crown virus, it should also take into account the many emergencies in the world: disease, poverty, and unstable sanitary conditions cause “thousands of avoidable deaths” every year.
(Vatican News Network) Pope Francis received experts and scholars attending the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences on September 27, and invited them to broaden their horizons and see the suffering in the world. The Pope said that not only the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a general decline in the world, but also some countries have put health issues on the agenda because of injustice and inequality, lack of food and drinking water, and deaths due to poor sanitation. Condition.
This year’s General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences was held on September 27-29. The topic of discussion was “Public Health in a Global Vision: Epidemics of Infectious Diseases, Bioethics and the Future”. The pope’s speech started with the experience of the pandemic of infectious diseases. He first pointed out that “the crisis of the epidemic has caused the cries of the earth and the poor to reverberate more strongly again. We must not turn a deaf ear to these double calls. We must listen carefully!”
From this call, the pope thought of “victims of discarding culture”. The Pope said that abortion and the discarding of unborn babies “have become a’normal’ situation today, a very bad habit, and this is exactly killing.” In addition, the elderly are also discarded, thinking that they are “useless”. The way to deal with them is “concealed euthanasia.” “Medicine is expensive, so only half is given to them. This means shortening the life span of the elderly.” However, “the elders are wisdom, the foundation of our civilization, and this civilization discards them.”
The Pope warned, “We must be careful about this culture. The problem is not one law or another, the problem is discarding. At this point, your academicians, Catholic universities, and even Catholic hospitals are not allowed to go this way. The abandoned road, this is a road we cannot take.”
Faced with this complex scene, the Pope invited the participants present to “understand the interrelationships between phenomena and take responsibility” to observe that “the life situation as a result of political, social, and environmental choices also has an impact on human health. Influence”. The Pope said: “We believe that life and health have the same basic value for all people. This is based on the inalienable dignity of mankind. However, if this proposition is not accompanied by a corresponding commitment to eliminate inequality, we actually accept this. The painful reality that not all lives are the same, and everyone’s health will not be protected in the same way.”
The Pope once again raised his “uneasy”, hoping that “there is always a free medical system, and countries with perfect free medical systems, such as Italy and other countries, cannot be lost. The free medical system cannot be lost, otherwise there will only be people with rights among the people. , Only those who can pay for medical expenses can receive health care, others cannot.” This is “a very significant challenge, and it helps to overcome inequality.”
The Pope pointed out that it is certainly beneficial to take all measures to contain and defeat the new crown virus, but don’t forget the vulnerable and the people who live in unstable situations every day. “When we heard government officials or group leaders suggest to residents living in the shanty area to disinfect with water and soap every day, I really don’t know if I was laughing or crying. Sometimes I had to cry. There was no water in the shanty area. They I don’t know what soap is…We must be concerned about this status quo, and we should do the same when reflecting on health issues.”
“To get out of the crisis”, concrete decisions need to be made. First of all, the interdependence between the “common home” and the human family should be considered. The Pope said: “Knowledge of biology and hygiene, medicine, and epidemiology are required, as well as economics, sociology, anthropology, and ecology. In addition to understanding these phenomena, it is also necessary to identify the health system, family , Work and environment to take technical, political and ethical actions.”
In this sense, the Pope encourages experts and scholars attending the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences to support international initiatives, such as the G20’s recent commitment to “global governance for the health of all inhabitants of the earth”, while considering new The epidemic in China will continue to be a danger that “also poses a threat to the future”.
The Pope finally encouraged the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences to become a “travel companion to other international organizations.” “The important thing is to participate in common initiatives and participate in public debates in an appropriate manner.” But this needs to be “in the absence of’diluted’ content. Trying to communicate with them with appropriate words and easy-to-understand narratives in the current social environment”, so that the Christian anthropological recommendations “help men and women today rediscover how the right to life from conception to the natural end of life has the primacy “.
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Pope Francis receives experts and scholars attending the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Life Sciences