The Pope was addressing participants in the Conference “Today who is my neighbour?” organised by the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, the World Health Organization (European Region), and the Italian Episcopal Conference during a private audience in the Vatican.

Speaking on the day in which the second “WHO European Health Equity Status Report” is released, the Pope noted that the document “draws attention to the situations faced by many poor and isolated people in Europe.

Noting that inequalities in the field of healthcare are growing in many European nations, he also called for urgent attention to people’s mental health, particularly that of young people.

Healthcare and social peace

“Health cannot be a luxury for the few,” the Pope said, highlighting also that it is “an essential condition for social peace.”

“Healthcare must be accessible to the most vulnerable, not only because their dignity requires it but also to prevent injustice from becoming a cause of conflict,” he said.

After having reflected on passages from the Gospel, from the Book of Genesis, from Saint Augustine’s writings and from Pope Francis’ Encyclical Fratelli tutti, Pope Leo said “Distance, distraction and desensitisation to the sight of violence and the suffering of others lead us toward indifference.  Yet all men and women, especially Christians, are called to fix their gaze on those who suffer: on the pain of the lonely, on those who, for various reasons, are marginalised and considered “outcasts.”  For without them, we cannot build just societies founded on the human person.”

Only together, he continued, “can we build communities of solidarity capable of caring for everyone, in which wellbeing and peace can flourish for the benefit of all.”