VATICAN CITY — In a world consumed by conflicts, we must dedicate time and resources to promote life and health, while addressing inequalities by strengthening our understanding of the common good, Pope Leo said in his address to participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life on Feb. 16 at the Vatican.
Wars threaten or destroy civilian structures such as hospitals, which are “grave attacks” against human life, he said.
“In a world scarred by conflicts, which consume enormous economic, technological and organizational resources in the production of arms and other types of military equipment, it has never been more important to dedicate time, people and expertise to safeguarding life and health,” Pope Leo said.
The Pontifical Academy for Life’s Plenary Assembly focused on the theme “Healthcare for all: Sustainability and equity.”
Pope Leo expressed his appreciation for this theme.
“It is often said that life and health are equally fundamental values for all, but this statement is hypocritical if, at the same time, we ignore the structural causes and policies that determine inequalities,” he said. “Despite declarations and statements to the contrary, all lives are not equally respected, and health is neither protected nor promoted in the same way for everyone.”
Social and environmental policies determine quality of life for many people, he said.
“When we look at life expectancy and the quality of health in different countries and social groups, we discover enormous inequalities,” he said.
The pope emphasized the importance of recognizing “the connection between the health of all and that of each individual,” adding how the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated this reality.
Our responsibility, he said, lies “not only in taking measures to treat diseases and ensure equitable access to health care, but also in recognizing how health is influenced and promoted by a combination of factors, which need to be examined and confronted in their complexity.”
He compared this to a mosaic where different fields such as “medicine, politics, ethics, management, and others” need to come together to confront all-encompassing issues and find solutions. This means focusing not on profit but on what is best for everyone.
Pope Leo insisted on the importance of promoting the concept of “one health,” which “emphasizes the environmental dimension and the interdependence of the various forms of life and ecological factors that enable their balanced development.”
“One health” can be “a basis for a global, multidisciplinary, and integrated approach to health issues,” as it reminds us that “human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures,” the pope said.
“We need to strengthen our understanding and promotion of the common good,” he said.
He added that the common good is “one of the fundamental principles of the church’s social teaching,” and it “risks remaining an abstract and irrelevant notion if we do not recognize that it is rooted in the fostering of close relationships between people and bonds between members of society.”
The pope noted that this is the ground upon which a “democratic culture” uniting “efficiency, solidarity, and justice” can grow, calling for all to “rediscover the fundamental attitude of care as support and closeness to others, not only because someone is in need or is sick, but because they experience vulnerability, which is common to all human beings.”
He insisted that only in this way “will we be able to develop more effective and sustainable healthcare systems, capable of satisfying every health need in a world of limited resources as well as restoring trust in medicine and healthcare professionals, notwithstanding any misinformation or skepticism regarding science.”