Together until the end

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

When a person feels bad, people flock. A solidarity race is launched to provide help. Then the ambulance arrives and the paramedical staff takes care of the case. In a few decades, medicine has made great strides and has greatly increased life expectancy. Many diseases, once incurable, are no longer scary today. But are medical care sufficient? The expressions that Pope Francis used at the meeting on “end-of-life” (November 2017) organized by the “Pontifical Academy for Life” are significant: «The categorical imperative is to never abandon the sick. [...] This is where, more than anything else, we are called to show love and closeness, recognizing the limitations that we all share and showing our solidarity». As important as “care” is “the attitude of care”. I mentioned it in the December editorial referring to the care God the Father manifests to his creatures. We can talk about it now, on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick (11 February, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes), with reference to our fellow human beings, especially in the moment of suffering and illness. Care is not only physical, medical and psychological, but also involves respect, closeness, acceptance, and silence. The patient…