Pain and suffering cannot nullify the power of God, Pope tells Italian ALS association

May 09, 2026

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CWN Editor's Note: Pope Leo XIV today praised the work of the Italian Association for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), whose members include those who suffer from the condition, their family members, and their caregivers.

During the early afternoon audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo thanked those who suffer from the condition for bearing “witness that the goodness and value of life are greater than illness and that, on the contrary, the very challenges that this involves can be faced together, transforming them into special and privileged opportunities to give and receive love.”

“You are present in the homes of those who are suffering,” the Pope said to caregivers. “The Church deeply values this ‘being close’: standing by people where they are, in their homes, to offer not only practical support but also spiritual accompaniment, paying particular attention to the questions of meaning that suffering raises and which cannot go unheard.”

The Pontiff added:

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus, the Son of God made man, who passed through cities and villages “healing every disease and every infirmity” (Mt 9:35), chose in turn to live out His Passion, His Via Crucis, as a time of trial, of physical pain and spiritual suffering. He stood in solidarity with us to the very end, yet showed us, through His cross and resurrection, that pain and suffering cannot stop love or nullify the power of God (cf. Phil 2:5–11).

For this reason, all of us, children of his Pasch, are the people of hope, who do not give up in the face of difficulties, but united and in solidarity, with God’s help, continue to walk on, without ever giving up.

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