Healthcare In The Light Of "Caritas In Veritate" (Charity in Truth)

Notice that the term used is "health care", not "death care" and refers to the "dignity of man", not the death of man.

VATICAN CITY, 15 NOV 2010 (VIS) - A press conference was held this morning in the Holy See Press Office to present the twenty-fifth international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. The conference is due to take place on 18 and 19 November and its theme this year is: "Towards egalitarian and human healthcare in the light of 'Caritas in veritate'".

Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski and Msgr. Jean-Marie Mpendawatu, respectively president and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care; Fr. Maurizio Faggioni O.F.M., professor of bioethics at the "Academia Alfonisana" in Rome; Mario Benotti, director general of RAI International, and Domenico Arduini, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics and director of the gynaecological and obstetric clinic at Rome's University of Tor Vergata.

The forthcoming meeting, Archbishop Zimowski explained, "will examine the current question of parity of access to basic healthcare services, not only in general terms, but in harmony with man's dignity and vocation. ... The initiative coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pontifical Council for Healthcare Workers, providing an opportunity to evaluate results and to plan for the future", he said.

In the light of the Encyclical "Caritas in veritate", the conference "will also examine, among other things, the fundamental requirements for an egalitarian and human promotion of health, the mission of the Church in favour of the sick, and the promotion of anthropocentric healthcare, as well as the role of civil society, the Church and other private institutions and organisations in promoting justice, equity and solidarity in the healthcare sector".
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