Health-care workers must be mindful of Christian understanding of suffering
November 19, 2012
A health-care worker should appreciate the value of “the Christian science of suffering,” Pope Benedict XVI told members of the Pontifical Council for Health Care on November 17.
The Pope explained that the Christian understanding of life and death is “the only truth capable of answering the mystery of suffering.” The fact that Jesus chose to endure human mortality and suffering “is enough to make you understand all its value.”
Health-care workers should be mindful of this truth, the Pope said, because it will help to enrich their understanding of the people they serve, and to motivate them in serving the entire person, including the patient’s spiritual needs.
Hospitals should be seen by health-care workers as centers for evangelization, the Pope said, because in caring for the sick, medical personnel should be motivated by the desire to bring Christ to them. When this is the case, he said, hospital work can be recognized as “a mission and not merely an occupation.”
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