VATICAN - “Every Christian, according to his specific task and specific responsibility, is called to make his contribution so that the dignity of these brothers and sisters of ours is recognised, respected and promoted.”: Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for World Day of the Sick 2006

Vatican City (Fides Service) - In a message for the annual World Day of the Sick organised by the Catholic Church on February 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Benedict XVI encourages sick people to offer their condition of suffering, “together with Christ, to the Father, certain that every ordeal received with resignation is meritorious and draws the benevolence of God upon the whole of mankind” The main celebrations for the Day will be held this year in Adelaide, Australia.
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“The events will culminate in the celebration of the Eucharist in the cathedral dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, the untiring missionary of the populations of the East. On that occasion, the Church intends to bow with especial solicitude to the suffering, calling the attention of public opinion to the problems connected with mental disturbance, which by now afflicts a fifth of mankind and constitutes a real and authentic social-health care emergency” the Pope writes in the message and continues:
“In many countries, legislation in this field does not yet exist and in other countries a precise policy on mental health is absent. It should also be observed that the prolongation of armed conflicts in various areas of the world, the succession of terrible natural catastrophes, and the spread of terrorism, in addition to causing a shocking number of deaths, have also created mental traumas in not a few survivors, whose recovery at times is difficult. And in countries with high economic development, the experts recognise that at the origin of new forms of mental disturbance we may also find the negative impact of the crisis of moral values. This increases the sense of loneliness, undermining and even breaking down traditional forms of social cohesion, beginning with the institution of the family, and marginalising the sick, and especially the mentally ill, who are often seen as a burden for their families and the community.”
“The training and updating of the personnel who work in such a very delicate sector of society is as urgent as ever before, the Holy Father writes, Every Christian, according to his specific task and specific responsibility, is called to make his contribution so that the dignity of these brothers and sisters of ours is recognised, respected and promoted.” (AP) (16/12/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:32; Parole:370)