We publish below the Pope’s Video with the prayer intention for February spread through the Pope’s World Prayer Network on the theme “For the terminally ill: Let us pray so that the sick in the terminal phase of their lives, and their families, always receive the necessary care and accompaniment, both from a health and human point of view”
Text of the Pope’s Video
There are two words that, when some talk about terminal illnesses, confuse them: incurable and un-careable. And they are not the same.
Even when there are very few possibilities of cure, all patients have the right to medical support, psychological support, spiritual support, and human support.
Sometimes they can’t speak, and sometimes we think they don’t know us, but if we hold their hand we understand that they are in tune.
The cure is not always achieved. But we can always care for the sick, caress the sick.
Saint John Paul II said that “heal if possible, always care.”
And this is where palliative care comes in, which guarantees the patient not only medical care, but also human and close support.
Families cannot be left alone in these difficult times.
Its role is decisive. They have to have the appropriate means to develop physical support, spiritual support, social support.
Let us pray that the terminally ill and their families always receive the necessary care and support, both from a medical and human point of view.
[Original text: Spanish]
