Pope Francis: “There is no room for fragility”, fight the “culture of waste” with the “culture of care”

“Health care professionals, in the past three years, have had a very special experience, hard to imagine, that of the epidemic. Without your commitment and efforts, many patients would not have been cured.” The pope recalled this when he received in the audience representatives of the National Federation of Orders of Health Technicians in the field of medical radiology and the technical health professions, rehabilitation and prevention. He continued, “The sense of duty moved by the power of love has allowed you to present your work in the service of others, even putting your own health at risk,” and thanked not only those present but also “all other health workers.” The “culture of efficiency and waste” often leads us to deny disease, Francis’ cautionary cry: “There is no room for fragility. And this evil, when it breaks in and attacks us, leaves us stunned on the ground. We don’t feel a burden to them. This is how loneliness begins.” In contrast to the culture of exclusion is the culture of care, personified by the Pope’s Good Samaritan, who “does not look away, approaches the wounded with compassion, and cares for the one who has been ignored by others.” “This parable indicates a definite course of behavior,” the Pope commented: “It shows us the initiatives with which to rebuild society starting with men and women who make themselves the fragility of others, who do not allow a society to be excluded.” But they approach, erect, and rehabilitate the fallen man so that the good may be common.”