Pope Francis denounces that the sick are discarded in the name of efficiency

Pope Francis denounced this Saturday that the sick are discarded, and in some cultures eliminated, “in the name of efficiency and strength,” for which he thanked the people who dedicate their lives to bringing them hope through closeness and he listens to her.

The Holy Father said these words in the audience he granted to the members of the Italian Association against Leukemia-Lymphoma and Myeloma (Ail), which is celebrating its 55th anniversary.

In your speechPope Francis highlighted the work of the association in favor of research to find a cure for these diseases, as well as the care it provides to people who suffer from them, with its thousands of volunteers.

“Proximity is one of the qualities of God: close, compassionate and tender,” stated the Pontiff, therefore, he thanked the testimony of those who make up the Ail, even more so “in a world marked by individualism.”

In this sense, he highlighted the motto “Together we illuminate the future”, chosen by the association for this occasion, because “the disease often plunges the person and their family into the darkness of pain and anguish, generating loneliness and isolation.”

“On a social level, it is often perceived as a defeat, something to be hidden, to be eliminated: the sick are discarded in the name of efficiency and strength, suffering is marginalized because it is scary and hinders projects. In other cultures they even eliminate the sick, they eliminate them, and that is bad!”, he denounced.

For this reason, he added, it is urgent to place “the sick person at the center again, with their history, their family relationships, their friendships, their therapeutic relationships to find meaning in the pain and give answers to the many ‘whys’.”

“Even when all seems lost, it is possible to have hope. But we need someone to bring a little light, a flame of hope, with friendship, closeness and listening,” he indicated.

Pope Francis said that people who bring “a little light” to the sick and their families “are the ‘donors’.”

He explained that this giving “is the main antidote to the throwaway culture.” “The first to give himself is God himself, in his creative love; It is Jesus, in his Incarnation.”

For this reason, he encouraged them to look at Christmas “at that Child given to the world so that we can all be saved. We draw strength from their fragility, comfort from their tears, courage from their tenderness. Here comes the word tenderness again: do not forget it!”

Finally, the Holy Father thanked them for being present in the squares “with extensive dissemination work,” because “it is the commitment not to remain locked in one’s own little garden cultivating only one’s own interests, but to enliven the territory, to be a tangible sign , a visible presence.”

“In the square the desire to be with the people is manifested, to share their pain, to be good Samaritans,” he stated.

Finally, Pope Francis highlighted that on December 14 the Catholic Church celebrates Saint John of the Cross, who remembered that “at the evening of life we ​​will be examined about love.”