{"id":6418,"date":"2021-05-10T14:12:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T18:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/pope-vax-live-we-need-light-and-hope-paths-healing-and-salvation\/"},"modified":"2021-05-10T14:12:33","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T18:12:33","slug":"pope-vax-live-we-need-light-and-hope-paths-healing-and-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/pope-vax-live-we-need-light-and-hope-paths-healing-and-salvation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope to VAX Live: \u201cWe need light and hope, paths of healing and salvation”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Vatican News<\/a>
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\n\u201cReceive a cordial greeting from this old man, who does not dance or sing like you, but who believes as you do that injustice and evil are not invincible,\u201d said Pope Francis in a video message to participants at \u201cVAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The event, which takes place on Saturday, aims to celebrate the hope that Covid-19 vaccines are offering families and communities around the world. It is also part of a growing chorus of voices seeking wider and more equitable distribution of the vaccines.<\/p>\n\n

Need for healing from the roots<\/strong>
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\nAmid the \u201cdarkness and uncertainty\u201d brought about by the ongoing pandemic, \u201cwe need light and hope. We need paths of healing and salvation,\u201d Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n\n

Elaborating further, he specifies that he is referring to is a \u201chealing from the roots, which cures the cause of evil and is not limited only to the symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Holy Father, therefore, encouraged everyone not to forget the most vulnerable in the face of the pandemic, which has \u201cproduced death and suffering, affecting the lives of all,\u201d and also contributed to exacerbating already existing social and environmental crises.<\/p>\n\n

Individualism makes us indifferent to sufferings of others<\/strong>
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\nIllustrating some of the ills we need to heal from, the Pope noted that within \u201cthese diseased roots, we find the virus of individualism, which does not make us any freer or more equal, nor more brothers\u201d but rather makes us indifferent to the sufferings of others.<\/p>\n\n

Other variants of this cultural virus, he said, are closed nationalism which prevents sharing of vaccines, and putting the laws of the market or intellectual property above the laws of love and the health of others.<\/p>\n\n

Likewise, another variant is \u201cwhen we believe in and foment a sick economy that allows a very rich few to possess more than all the rest of humanity, and when models of production and consumption destroy the planet, our \u2018common home\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Everything is interconnected<\/strong>
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\nPope Francis went on to highlight the interconnectedness of everything, pointing out that we are united in nature and person, and thus every social injustice and act of marginalization against poor people also affects the environment.<\/p>\n\n

He added that God instills in our hearts a new and generous spirit that enables us to abandon individualism in order to promote the common good.<\/p>\n\n

It is a \u201cspirit of justice that mobilizes us to ensure universal access to vaccines and the temporary suspension of intellectual property rights; a spirit of communion that allows us to generate a different, more inclusive, just, sustainable economic model,\u201d the Pope said.<\/p>\n\n

A better, post-pandemic society<\/strong>
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\nThe Pope then reminded everyone that \u201cwe do not come out of a crisis the same, we either come out better or worse.\u201d However, he noted that \u201cthe problem lies in having the inventiveness to look for paths that are better\u201d in our efforts to deal with the crisis we are experiencing due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n

He thus prayed that God may comfort the suffering and welcome those who have died into His kingdom.<\/p>\n\n

He also implored our Lord that for us, pilgrims on earth, He may grant \u201cthe gift of a new brotherhood, a universal solidarity, so that we may recognize the good and beauty he has sown in each of us, to strengthen bonds of unity, of common projects, of shared hopes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Holy Father concluded his video message with an expression of gratitude to the participants for their efforts and a request for prayers for himself.
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