ROME – Pope Francis said Friday that humanity needs a vaccine for the “heart” along with a vaccine for the coronavirus.
For the New Year Mass, when Catholics celebrate World Day of Peace and honor the Virgin Mary as “Mother of God”, the Pope pointed to Mary’s example of keeping “all these things in the heart” (cf. Lk 2: 19) as an important message for Christians.
Kindness “comes from the heart,” said the Pope in his homily, who read the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “How important it is to keep our hearts pure, to cultivate our inner life and to persevere in prayer!”
“How important it is to educate our hearts to care, to value the people and things around us,” he continued. “It all starts with that: from valuing others, the world and creation.”
“This year, while we wait for new beginnings and new cures, we will not neglect care. Along with a vaccine for our bodies, we need a vaccine for our hearts. This vaccine is care, ”he said.
“This will be a good year if we take care of others, as Our Lady does with us,” he added.
The pope has often talked about the coronavirus and possible remedies, insisting that eventual vaccines be made available to everyone to avoid “vaccine nationalism”
In his annual Christmas message at the Vatican, the pope once again urged world leaders to make vaccines available to everyone – especially those most in need.
“At Christmas, we celebrate the light of Christ who comes into the world and He comes for everyone, not just some,” said Francisco.
“Today, in this moment of darkness and uncertainty because of the pandemic, different lights of hope appear, such as the discovery of vaccines,” he said. “But in order for these lights to illuminate and bring light to the whole world, they must be available to everyone.”
“We cannot allow the various forms of nationalism closed in on themselves to prevent us from living as the truly human family that we are,” he said. “Nor can we allow the virus of radical individualism to dominate us and make us indifferent to the suffering of other brothers and sisters.”
“I cannot put myself before others, placing the laws of the market and patents above the law of love and health of humanity,” added the Pope.
Pope Francis urged world leaders, pharmaceutical companies and international organizations to “promote cooperation and not competition” to ensure the wide availability of coronavirus vaccines, “especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all regions of the planet ”.
In December, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will receive the Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus in January, which will also be made available to the 800 residents and nearly 3,000 workers in the small city-state.
The vaccination will allow the pope to travel safely to Iraq in March, noted the head of the Vatican’s health department, Andrea Arcangeli.