Pope Francis, in the modest style he has become
known for, spoke on Saturday to members of an
Italian medical charity working in Africa and
evoked his desire to show unity with the poor.
"I ask you please to pray for me too, so that the
Lord will make me each day become poorer," he
told the organisation "Doctors with Africa", as he
praised their work in the poorest "last mile" of
healthcare systems in seven African countries.
The pontiff also stressed that heath was "not a
consumer good, but rather a
universal right, and
therefore access to healthcare services cannot
be a privilege."
But he also acknowledged that healthcare is still
in many countries the privilege of the rich.
"Healthcare, especially at the most basic level, is
indeed denied in many parts of the world and
many regions of Africa. It is not a right for all,
but rather it is still a privilege reserved to the
few, to those who can afford it," he said
according to a Vatican statement.
He noted that the situation in Africa was
particularly critical.
"In Africa too many mothers die in child birth and
too many children do not survive beyond their
first month of life due to malnutrition and
illnesses," he told the audience of 9,000 doctors
and volunteers.
He said the medical charity was carrying out its
work "with courage as the expression of a
Church that is not a 'super clinic for VIPs' but
rather a 'field hospital'. A Church with a great
heart, close to the many wounded and humiliated
of history, in the service of the poorest."
The Doctors with Africa group, also known by its
Italian initials CUAMM, was founded in Italy 65
years ago by a doctor and a priest and has
missions in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique,
Etiopia, Angola, South Sudan and Sierra Leone.
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