VATICAN - The Church's commitment to those sick with leprosy: 529 lepers around the world

Saturday, 29 January 2011

VATICAN

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Vatican (Agenzia Fides) – The missionary Church has a long tradition of helping those sick with leprosy, often even abandoning their own families and always giving them, apart from medical help and spiritual assistance, the concrete possibility of recovery and reinsertion into society. In may Countries there is still serious discrimination against these sick, due to the presumed incurability of the illness and for the tremendous mutilations it causes.
The Church administers to 529 lepers around the world according to the following continents: in Africa 184, in America 45 (total), in Asia 285, in Europe 12 and in Oceania 3. The nations which host the most lepers are as follows: in Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo (35), Madagascar (26), South Africa (23); in North America: United States (1); in Central America: Mexico (4); in Central America-Caribbean: Haiti (2); in South America: Brazil (15), Ecuador (8), Peru (5); in Asia: India (215), Korea (16), Pakistan (13); in Europe: Austria (9); in Oceania: Papua New Guinea (3). (SL) (Agenzia Fides 29/1/2011)