To the
participants in a Conference on infantile leukaemia
IS A SIGN OF RESPECT FOR LIFE
On 7 October, the Holy
Father received in audience the participants in a scientific conference on
infantile leukaemia. He spoke to them
first in Italian, then in English.
I am happy to greet all of you, scientists and
doctors, experts in the field of infantile leukaemia, who have convened at the
Along with you, I greet all the persons who are participating in this
conference, your families, the persons accompanying you, and I thank you for
the courtesy which this meeting, solicited by you, demonstrates.
In
my pastoral visits I have many occasions to know the pain and the suffering of
little children: and it is with great
sorrow that I approach these human situations involving innocents together with
their families. You are equally
well-acquainted with the tears, the worry, the profound sadness of the parents
who ask of you the light of hope for an ill which remains in many respects
mysterious, and so often relentless.
I
therefore express lively appreciation for the initiative of this conference
which will allow you to compare experiences, to agree upon the formalities for
subdividing the classifying those stricken with “acute lymphatic
leukaemia" according to the illness's varying degrees of gravity, to plan
and experiment with various treatments according to the necessities of each
case and, above all, to evaluate the therapeutic results so far attained in the
treatment of this grave illness.
Promote collaboration
A
word of special congratulations goes to the
Together with the specific goal of the professional preparation of
doctors, inspired by gospel ethics, the
Your
hope is that it be possible, through the studies and the discussions that are
taking place in your scientific dialogue, to better the prospects of recovery
of the tiny patients.
It
is to them that our thoughts must turn, full of compassion, employing every
scientific resource in order that, in the existence of these children afflicted
by suffering, life might win out over the dark forces of evil and that their
faces and those of their loved ones might once again radiate smiles.
With
you I wish to recommend to Christ, who loved the little ones and wished to be
near them all their suffering and also your work, so that he might sustain and
illuminate you in your efforts, and guide you in the attainment of those goals
that, together with you, all of us desire.
I
would also like to express a word of welcome to the English-speaking
participants in this scientific workshop on aspects of the disease of leukaemia
as it affects children. Dear friends: I wish to encourage you in your high
calling and in your endeavours to further the knowledge and skills required to
deal with this particular malady.
In
treating the health problems of children you come face to face with human life
in one of its most precious, if precarious, phases. Your struggle to protect
and improve the health of the young is undoubtedly a sign of your deep
respect for human life itself, the fundamental value which underlies all the
other all the other values that make our existence meaningful.
The
Christian view is that each life is a gift from the Creator, a unique
expression of the goodness which he continually pours out into the world. Our
task is to welcome every individual who comes into being, defend each
person's dignity, and seek to create conditions including health care that
will make his or her existence a
progressive and joyful experience of the truth and beauty that fill the
universe.
The
Catholic Church has always had the medical profession in high esteem. Jesus
himself was considered a great healer and many flocked to hear him, including
the little children, precisely because of the cures he effected.
For him, healing was a way of manifesting God's power and love.
May
you too use your art in a spirit of solidarity and brotherhood with those who
have need of your skills!
And may the God of peace and love be with
you always! To the participants in a Conference on
infantile leukaemia
THE
IS A SIGN OF RESPECT FOR LIFE
On 7 October, the Holy
Father received in audience the participants in a scientific conference on
infantile leukaemia. He spoke to them
first in Italian, then in English.
I am happy to greet all of you, scientists and
doctors, experts in the field of infantile leukaemia, who have convened at the
Along with you, I greet all the persons who are participating in this
conference, your families, the persons accompanying you, and I thank you for
the courtesy which this meeting, solicited by you, demonstrates.
In
my pastoral visits I have many occasions to know the pain and the suffering of
little children: and it is with great
sorrow that I approach these human situations involving innocents together with
their families. You are equally
well-acquainted with the tears, the worry, the profound sadness of the parents
who ask of you the light of hope for an ill which remains in many respects
mysterious, and so often relentless.
I
therefore express lively appreciation for the initiative of this conference
which will allow you to compare experiences, to agree upon the formalities for
subdividing the classifying those stricken with “acute lymphatic
leukaemia" according to the illness's varying degrees of gravity, to plan
and experiment with various treatments according to the necessities of each
case and, above all, to evaluate the therapeutic results so far attained in the
treatment of this grave illness.
Promote collaboration
A
word of special congratulations goes to the
Together with the specific goal of the professional preparation of
doctors, inspired by gospel ethics, the
Your
hope is that it be possible, through the studies and the discussions that are
taking place in your scientific dialogue, to better the prospects of recovery
of the tiny patients.
It
is to them that our thoughts must turn, full of compassion, employing every
scientific resource in order that, in the existence of these children afflicted
by suffering, life might win out over the dark forces of evil and that their
faces and those of their loved ones might once again radiate smiles.
With
you I wish to recommend to Christ, who loved the little ones and wished to be
near them all their suffering and also your work, so that he might sustain and
illuminate you in your efforts, and guide you in the attainment of those goals
that, together with you, all of us desire.
I
would also like to express a word of welcome to the English-speaking
participants in this scientific workshop on aspects of the disease of leukaemia
as it affects children. Dear friends: I wish to encourage you in your high
calling and in your endeavours to further the knowledge and skills required to
deal with this particular malady.
In
treating the health problems of children you come face to face with human life
in one of its most precious, if precarious, phases. Your struggle to protect
and improve the health of the young is undoubtedly a sign of your deep
respect for human life itself, the fundamental value which underlies all the
other all the other values that make our existence meaningful.
The
Christian view is that each life is a gift from the Creator, a unique
expression of the goodness which he continually pours out into the world. Our
task is to welcome every individual who comes into being, defend each
person's dignity, and seek to create conditions including health care that
will make his or her existence a
progressive and joyful experience of the truth and beauty that fill the
universe.
The
Catholic Church has always had the medical profession in high esteem. Jesus
himself was considered a great healer and many flocked to hear him, including
the little children, precisely because of the cures he effected.
For him, healing was a way of manifesting God's power and love.
May
you too use your art in a spirit of solidarity and brotherhood with those who
have need of your skills!
And may the God of peace and love be with you always!