To the
National Convention of the Italian Bishops' Conference
THE
12 May 2001
1. I am delighted to welcome all of
you, who in these days are reflecting on the presence of the Church in the
world of health, sickness and suffering. I first greet Cardinal Camillo Ruini,
President of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), Archbishop Javier Lozano
Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, and I
thank them for their kind words. I greet the other Bishops present, especially
Archbishop Alessandro Plotti of
I further extend my greeting to all the sick
and suffering, to their families and to all who care for them. Truly, as I
wrote in the Message this year for the World Day of the Sick, I wish to visit
in spirit every day all who suffer, to "pause beside the patients, their relatives
and the health-care personnel" (n. 3).
This convention of yours, significant for many
reasons, fits into the journey undertaken by the
2. You have come together to study the purpose
and the ways in which to carry out Christ's mandate today. From an attentive
discernment of the current social and cultural reality, you will certainly find
concrete indications about how the Church must be present in the field of
health care, to better its quality and define new ways for apostolic
participation.
In this regard it is useful to recall, as I
wrote in the Apostolic Letter Novo
Millennio ineunte that: "It is not a matter of inventing a new
programme. The programme already exists: it is the plan found in the
Gospel and in the living Tradition. Ultimately, it has its
centre in Christ himself" (n. 29).
In the Message for the Eighth World Day of the
Sick during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 I observed: "Jesus
did not only treat and heal the sick, but he was also a tireless promoter of health through his saving
presence, teaching and action.... In him, the human condition showed its face
redeemed and the deepest human aspirations found fulfilment. He
wants to communicate this harmonious fullness of life to people today" (n.
10). Yes, Jesus came so that all "may have life, and have it
abundantly" (Jn 10,10). And what context, more
than that of health and suffering, awaits the announcement, the testimony and
the service of the Gospel of life?
Imitating Christ, who has taken upon himself
the "sorrowful" face of man to make it "glorious", the
Church is called to walk the way of man, especially if he is suffering (cf. Redemptor Hominis nn. 7, 14, 21; Salvifici Doloris, n. 3). Her action
reaches out to the sick person to listen to him, take care of him, soothe his
pain and open him to understanding the sense and salvific value of suffering.
We can never insist enough, and you have done
so in this Convention, on the need to put the person at the centre, both the
sick and the health-care worker.
3. The Church appreciates how hard others work
in this field and offer their support to public structures to respond to the
needs of an integral care of the person.
In this the Church is motivated and sustained
by a vision of health that is not merely the absence of sickness, but tension
towards full harmony and healthy balance at the psychological, spiritual and
social level. She offers a model of health inspired by the "healthy
salvation" offered by Christ: an offering of "global",
"integral" health that heals the sick person in his totality. The
human experience of illness is thus illumined by the light of the Easter Mystery.
Jesus crucified, "abandoned" by the Father, cries to him his request
for help but, in an act of love and filial trust, he abandons himself to the
Father's hands. In the crucified Messiah on
4. The religious institutes which, faithful to
their charism, continue to have an important role in this sector, deserve
special mention. I thank these male and female institutes for their witness
offered with generosity and skill in the midst of many difficulties. I also ask
them to preserve their charisms, making them ever more recognizable in the
present situation.
Theirs is a public service, which I hope never
lacks proper recognition from the civil authorities. It is a service that
requires a strong and convinced investment in the field of specific formation
of health-care workers. These are "works of the Church", a patrimony
and service of the Gospel of charity for all who are in need of care. These
works must never lack the support of the entire ecclesial community.
Dear brothers and sisters! Here is a privileged
area in which the Church is called to bear witness to the presence of the Risen
Lord. To all who are involved I want to repeat what I wrote in Novo Millennio ineunte: "Let
us go forward in hope! A new millennium is opening before the
Church like a vast ocean upon which we shall venture, relying on the help of
Christ" (n. 58). At the beginning of this century may those called,
like the Good Samaritan, to bend down to care for man wounded and suffering,
quicken their pace. May Mary, who watches maternally from Heaven over all who
are tried by suffering, be the constant support of those who dedicate
themselves to bringing relief.
With these sentiments, I gladly impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you all.