Human Life and Dignity Must Always Be Defended




VATICAN CITY, 22 NOV 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office the presentation took place of the twenty-sixth international conference organised by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. The conference will have as its theme: "Health Pastoral Care, Serving Life in the Light of the Magisterium of Blessed John Paul II", and is due to be held in the Vatican from 24 to 26 November.

During this morning's presentation, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, noted that the conference aims to ensure that "Blessed John Paul II's teaching on the Gospel of Life, and the translation of that teaching into pastoral activity by the Church, call pastoral care operatives, healthcare workers and all men and women of good will to love and serve life, especially when it is weak and suffering". He also expressed the hope that the conference would "celebrate the sacredness of life and the dignity of the person, which must be defended in all circumstances".

The theme chosen for this twenty-sixth international conference is inspired by "the profound veneration" which healthcare workers feel for John Paul II, Archbishop Zimowski explained, He also highlighted the late Pontiff's lifelong concern for the sick, expressed in both words and actions. Indeed, it was John Paul II who established the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, as well as the World Day of the Sick and the Good Samaritan Foundation.

The conference will include "lectures, testimonies and theological-pastoral experiences inspired by John Paul II's teachings on the Christian value of suffering and the Gospel of Life. These will be examined from an interdisciplinary perspective", the archbishop said. On the first day a ceremony will be held in honour of John Paul II, with contributions from Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, respectively president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care and former secretary to John Paul II.


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