A prayer for Egypt to find a
peaceful coexistence, an exhortation to those who work in the world of
health care to look at the sick first and foremost as a person in need
of help and solidarity and the hope that "the new generations of
healthcare workers will be the bearers of a renewed culture of life"
these were the topics that Benedict XVI touched on in his address to 30
thousand people in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus last Sunday (6th Feb).
Recalling that on 11 February, the day dedicated to Our
Lady of Lourdes, we celebrate the World Day of the Sick, the pope said
that "it is a propitious occasion to reflect, to pray and to increase
awareness of the ecclesial community and civil society towards our brothers and sisters who are sick.
In
the message for the Day, inspired by a phrase from the First Letter of
Peter: "By his wounds you were healed" (2:24), I invite everyone to
contemplate Jesus, the Son of God, who suffered, died, but rose again. God is diametrically opposed to the power of evil. The Lord cares for man in every situation, He shares his pain and opens his heart to hope. I
therefore urge all healthcare workers to recognize in the sick person
not only a body marked by weakness, but first and foremost a person,
gifting solidarity and providing appropriate and competent responses”.
In this context, Benedict XVI, taking a cue from today's
celebration in Italy, of the "Day for Life" expressed the hope that
"everyone will strive to help a culture of life grow, to put the value
of human beings at the centre in all circumstances. According
to faith and reason, the dignity of the person is irreducible to its
faculties or capabilities that he may manifest, and therefore does not
end when the person himself is weak, disabled and in need of help".
On
the same theme, after the Marian prayer, greeting a delegation of the
faculty of Medicine of the University of Rome, he said that "when
scientific and technological research is driven by genuine ethical
values it can find suitable solutions for the welcoming of unborn life
and the promotion of motherhood. I hope that new generations of health care workers will be the bearers of a renewed culture of life ".
And after the Angelus, Benedict XVI concluded by saying he
has been closely following "the delicate situation of the beloved
country Egypt. I pray to God - he concluded - that that
land, blessed by the presence of the Holy Family, may find tranquillity
and peaceful coexistence once again, in a shared commitment for the
common good. "