ANGELUS REFLECTIONS ON WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's reflections at the angelus today, liturgical memory of Our Lady of Lourdes, were dedicated to the World Day of the Sick, one of whose focal points was the Eucharistic celebration in the cathedral of Sydney, Australia, attended by Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care.

In his remarks, the Holy Father also mentioned the traditional Eucharistic celebration set for this afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Vicar Camillo Ruini, saying he would personally close the Mass by coming to the basilica to meet with and speak to the sick people and other pilgrims present.

He also recalled that his Message for this world day had been published last August on the theme "The New Evangelization and the Dignity of the Suffering Person." He said that "hospitals, centers for the ill or the elderly and every home in which human suffering is present are privileged milieux in which to echo the message of the Gospel, a bearer of hope."

"Looking at the current world situation, I cannot forget that so many, too many, of our brothers and sisters are still deprived of the most basic health care. And this is a serious injustice which urgently calls for an effort by everyone, especially those who have greater responsibility at political and economic levels."

John Paul II closed with words of appreciation for all those people and institutions which "dedicate themselves with admirable care to the service of the sick and the suffering."

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