IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cancer prevention programs and
campaigns need to reach everyone, Pope Francis said.
“Spreading a culture of life — made up of attitudes
and behaviors — is greatly needed, a true culture (that is) of the people,
serious, accessible to everyone and not based on commercial interests,” he
said in an address to members of the Italian League for the Fight Against
Tumors June 26.
The pope praised the volunteer organization, which
promotes education, prevention, research and support for those with cancer and
their families.
He said their service represented a constant
“decentralization toward the peripheries,” emphasizing that the
“peripheries” include any person who is marginalized by society or
other people, and those who may be forced to compromise or abandon their daily routine
and relationships because of illness.
Taking care of those who are ill “is a priceless
richness for society,” he said, and reminds both the church and civil
society “to not be afraid of closeness, to not be afraid of tenderness, to
not be afraid of ‘wasting time'” by offering support, comfort and
solidarity to those who need it.
“Since good health is a
primary and fundamental necessity for every person, it is desirable that
oncological prevention be extended to everyone, thanks to collaboration between
public and private services and initiatives by civil society and charities.”
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