VATICAN CITY, MAR 7, 2006 (VIS) - Benedict XVI sent a Message to Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, archbishop of Sao Salvador da Bahia and president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, for the occasion of the Fraternity Campaign traditionally promoted by the Brazilian Church during Lent.
In his Message, written in Portuguese, the Pope mentions the theme of this year's campaign - "Fraternity and Disabled People" - which, he writes, "promotes reflection and is an encouragement to renew the commandment to charity with greater force, especially towards people suffering some form of disability."
What is needed, the Pope continues, is not simply "an attitude of tenderness and consolation," but the complete insertion into society of these "our brothers and sisters in Christ."
Benedict XVI continues by affirming that "even when the problems [of disabled people] touch their minds or their sensorial and intellective capacities, they remain fully human, with the sacred and inalienable rights that belong to humans. Indeed, human beings, irrespective of the conditions in which they live and of the capacities they are capable of expressing, possess unique and extraordinary worth from the very beginning of their existence to the moment of natural death."
The Pope also highlights that "to assume the dignity that God wished for us - which is an intrinsic part of this life - means adopting attitudes of commitment, at times heroic and worthy of eternal reward, not only for those who undergo such suffering, but also for those who help the most needy."
MESS/FRATERNITY CAMPAIGN:BRAZIL/AGNELO VIS 20060307 (260)
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