VATICAN CITY, 22 JAN 2009 (VIS) - The Message for the World Day of Leprosy was published today. It bears the signature of Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Healthcare Ministry. The Day itself is due to be held on Sunday 25 January.
The document describes leprosy as "a sickness often ignored by the communications media, but which still today still strikes more than 250,000 people every year, most of whom live in absolute poverty". According to World Health Organisation statistics, 254,525 new cases of leprosy were diagnosed in 2007, of which 212,802 are receiving treatment.
"In the year of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child", writes the cardinal in his message, "I appeal to the heads of governmental organisations to ensure, as they implement their healthcare programmes and plans, that they give particular attention to children suffering from leprosy".
"Unfortunately many unfounded fears still persist, nourished by ignorance of Hansen's disease. These fears generate attitudes of exclusion and often brand leprosy sufferers, making them particularly vulnerable. This fifty-sixth World Day is, then, an occasion to provide ... more broad-ranging and capillary information on leprosy, on the devastating effects it can have on bodies if left untreated, on families and on society, and to arouse a sense of individual and collective responsibility".
The cardinal lays emphasis on the special concern the Church has always shown for leprosy sufferers over the centuries, and through various religious congregations. In this context he particularly mentions Blessed Damien, "a symbol of all the people consecrated to Christ who still today dedicate their lives to this noble cause".
Finally, in the name of his dicastery, he expresses his thanks for the acts of solidarity of the many volunteers involved in the struggle against Hansen's disease. To non-government associations and organisations, in particular the "Sasakawa Foundation", he expresses his recognition for "many decades of financial support for the research activities of the institutions of the international community".
CON-AVA/WORLD DAY LEPROSY/LOZANO VIS 20090122 (340)
The document describes leprosy as "a sickness often ignored by the communications media, but which still today still strikes more than 250,000 people every year, most of whom live in absolute poverty". According to World Health Organisation statistics, 254,525 new cases of leprosy were diagnosed in 2007, of which 212,802 are receiving treatment.
"In the year of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child", writes the cardinal in his message, "I appeal to the heads of governmental organisations to ensure, as they implement their healthcare programmes and plans, that they give particular attention to children suffering from leprosy".
"Unfortunately many unfounded fears still persist, nourished by ignorance of Hansen's disease. These fears generate attitudes of exclusion and often brand leprosy sufferers, making them particularly vulnerable. This fifty-sixth World Day is, then, an occasion to provide ... more broad-ranging and capillary information on leprosy, on the devastating effects it can have on bodies if left untreated, on families and on society, and to arouse a sense of individual and collective responsibility".
The cardinal lays emphasis on the special concern the Church has always shown for leprosy sufferers over the centuries, and through various religious congregations. In this context he particularly mentions Blessed Damien, "a symbol of all the people consecrated to Christ who still today dedicate their lives to this noble cause".
Finally, in the name of his dicastery, he expresses his thanks for the acts of solidarity of the many volunteers involved in the struggle against Hansen's disease. To non-government associations and organisations, in particular the "Sasakawa Foundation", he expresses his recognition for "many decades of financial support for the research activities of the institutions of the international community".
CON-AVA/WORLD DAY LEPROSY/LOZANO VIS 20090122 (340)
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