This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in Audience the Participants in the Seminar on “Ethics in Health Management”.

Pope Francis’ audience to the participants of the Seminar on “Ethics in Health Management” was an important event for the Catholic Church and the health care field. In it, the Pope made a series of statements on the importance of ethics in health management, as well as on the need for universal and quality health care.

We publish below the speech that the Pope addressed to those present:

Address of the Holy Father

Yes, thank you. As you can see, I am alive. The doctor would not let me go to Dubai. The reason is that it is very hot there, and you go from heat to air conditioning. And this, with this bronchial condition [is not convenient]. Thank God it was not pneumonia. It is a very acute, infectious bronchitis. I no longer have a fever, but I am still on antibiotics and things like that. Thank you for all this. Thank you for the visit, which gives me great pleasure. Taking care of your health, health has a kind of opposite, it is strong and fragile. One is as strong as his health, how it holds up, but it is also fragile. And poorly cared for health gives way to fragility. I like preventive medicine very much, because it prevents events before they happen. I thank [the healthcare professionals] for what they do. Not only looking for medical, pharmacological solutions, but also caring for health, that is, thinking about the good of health. And how to preserve that good. Not only to cure, but to preserve. It is a job for you, I thank you for coming, and forgive me for not being able to talk any more, but I do not have the energy. So, what I would like to do is to greet you, so, if we make it quick, come one by one, come closer. Forgive me if I remain seated and greet you, one by one.

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 30 November 2023