EUROPE/ITALY – “Dreaming beneath the stars”: Doctors With Africa CUAMM and Pope John Paul II
Thursday, 14th of July 2022
Cuamm
Padua (Agenzia Fides – Tonight, July 14, 2022, a special meeting will take place in Campo San Martino in Padua between Doctors with Africa CUAMM & the John Paul I Vatican Foundation. The focus will be on Africa and on the next beatification by Pope John Paul I, which is scheduled for September 4, 2022 in Rome.
The combination of the Foundation and the health organisation for the promotion and preservation of the health and well-being of African populations might seem odd. If one gets to know the protagonists better, one can see the missionary heart of Pope Luciani and CUAMM.
Don Dante Carraro (Director of the organization), spoke by telephone to Agenzia Fides. The missionary doctor, who had just returned from South Sudan to meet the Secretary of State, Msgr. Pietro Parolin was sent to the country by Pope Francis. Don Dante spoke with us about the South Sudanese crisis, which is a result of multiple external and internal factors. The war in Ukraine is causing something in Africa that most people don’t know about. These include dramatic increases in the price of gas, food, medicines, and other essentials. “People find that it is much more difficult to reach the end a month,” said the missionary doctor. The fact that their children are not getting enough food creates immense social tensions. Even in hospitals, the government struggles with paying wages.
CUAMM director also noted that many of the resources destined to Africa are being lost because of the war in Ukraine. This is the situation with the Rumbek State Hospital, which we are present at, which is funded by the Nordic Countries, England, and the European Union. The fund will be suspended at end July. It has supported 2,500 deliveries so far, as well as thousands of outpatient appointments.
“Don Dante continues to emphasize the extent of political instability that still weighs heavily on the country. “We can describe a ‘laboratory’ as the sum of the two realities, president Salva Kir (first vice president Riek Machar). Ministers change frequently and it is hard to have the same interlocutors. This creates problems for safety, health, school, and everything else. I have visited South Sudan five times this year to feel closer to the people and those who are discouraged in these fragile circumstances. There are many people of goodwill, including mayors and local institutions. Everyone is open to collaboration.
The director of CUAMM spoke about the “Under-the-stars” meeting, explaining that it has “great value for our Church as well as our people.” About 650 people have already registered. The Christianity that we believe is made up important and significant collaborations in the which people feel concretely involved.
Pope Luciani highlighted the maternal, charitable and missionary dimensions of so much suffering. Pope Francis continues this tradition. Nobody, even the South Sudanese people will ever forget Pope Francis at the Vatican, kneeling before South Sudanese leaders Salva Kirir and Riech Machar, asking for a true commitment to peace.
Pope Luciani emphasizes the importance that the charismatic figure of the Pope is for populations such as South Sudan. Don Dante concludes that the Pope’s figure is the symbol of a Christianity which listens to the cry for help, as Cardinal Parolin stated when reporting the message from Pope Francis.
The Foundation, which includes the Vatican Secretary-of-State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, as well as the Deputy President, Dr. Stefania Falaca, is the culmination of decades of studies, meetings and insights that also want the Foundation to be an opening door to the missionary experiences of the future Blessed Luciani. (AP/DC) (Agenzia Fides, 14/7/2022)
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Source: fides.org
