To the
Italian League for the Fight Against Tumors
science is making great progress
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. I am pleased to receive you on the occasion
of the 80th anniversary of your beneficent association. I cordially greet your
national President, Prof. Francesco Schittulli, whom I thank for his courteous
words on your behalf. I also greet the members of the administrative board and
to the representatives of the provincial branches of the Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori.
In the course of these decades of fruitful and
intense activity, your association has been distinguished by its special
achievements in the areas of information, health education, prevention, nursing
and research. Thanks to your generous contribution, many people suffering from
a tumour can look with hope to their future. The spirit that motivates you
belongs to that great process of humanization which we can aptly describe as
the path of the "civilization of
love" (cf. Salvifici doloris, n. 30).
2. As we face the tumours that threaten human
health, we are tempted to assume a despairing or fatalistic attitude that depresses
the sick person and makes treatment more difficult. Therefore your association
appropriately tries to prepare the patient to receive the initial prognosis
calmly and to face it with realism, relying confidently on the resources of the
human organism and of medical research.
Let us thank the Lord because science is making
great progress in the prevention and the fight against cancer. In this area,
however, and in all experimentation that involves the person, everyone must
work to ensure that experiments are carried out with full respect for human
dignity. Scientific research will then be a wonderful benefit for many families
and for all humanity.
Together with research into the origins of
tumours, you also apply yourselves to the treatment of pain. This is a most
opportune field of research because, by improving the quality of life of those
who are afflicted by the disease, it offers them the possibility of effective
alleviation and human support.
3. The world of suffering and pain is vast and
complex. Yet it can be for the human being an opportunity for spiritual growth,
opening up horizons beyond the confines of a precarious physical condition.
When he is properly supported, the sick person, although aware of his own
physical frailty, is often led to discover a dimension that goes beyond his own
corporeity.
This is why, in the medical and nursing care of
patients, as well as on the boundaries of research, it is important always to
keep in mind the centrality of the person, regardless of race or religion. We
must bend over every sick person with loving care, following the example of the
Good Samaritan.
We must never lose sight of the finality of the
true good of the person; we must never yield to the temptation of a medicine
and scientific progress that are without norms and values,
that could be transformed into a dangerous form of "technological
control" over life.
4. Dear brothers and sisters, in such an
important field, it would be unacceptable for believers and people of goodwill
not to make their voice heard. In fact, it is only right that society and all
those who in a variety of ways are responsible for it understand the urgent
need to allocate funds for research for such beneficial causes as the fight
against cancer and support concretely initiatives that serve to improve
people's health.
Dear members of the Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori, pursue your activity
with steady dedication. It can help inspire in public opinion a greater sense
of solidarity with those who are suffering, and encourage the quest for a
proper balance between health, economics and society.
I gladly
entrust you, together with your projects, to the Immaculate Mother of God, Seat of Wisdom. As I assure you of my
prayer for the sick and for their families, I wholeheartedly impart a special
Apostolic Blessing to you, to your dear ones, to the many volunteers and to all
those you help in your daily commitment.