Inequalities in healthcare and clinical research must be prevented, Pope Francis told medical doctors, health practitioners, researchers, ethicists and other experts attending a conference at the Vatican.
Promoting the life and health of others must be guided by an attitude of care, not made subordinate to the “mentalities of the market and of technology,” he said in a message read to conference participants on 18th January.
“While the asymmetry present in the therapeutic relationship is all too apparent, the central role that the sick person should have has not yet become a reality. It needs to be continually safeguarded and promoted,” he wrote.
“We need to balance research opportunities and the welfare of patients, so that the expenses incurred by research and access to the resulting benefits are equitably distributed,” he added.
The pope’s message was addressed to experts and professionals in health care fields taking part in a conference from 18th-19th January organised by the World Medical Association together with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Pontifical Academy for Life.
The conference was one of many taking place over a two-year period around the world as part of updating and revising the Declaration of Helsinki.
Picture: Sheila Tlou, a specialist in HIV/AIDS and women’s health, a former Minister of Health in Botswana, and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, looks on as Dr. Gifty Immanuel, director of the Center for AIDS and Antiviral Research and a member of pontifical academy, speaks at a conference at the Vatican. (CNS photo/courtesy Pontifical Academy for Life)