Pope marks World Leprosy Day, urges adequate, dignified care

Published: 2007-01-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Telling people with Hansen's disease that he prayed for their healing, Pope Benedict XVI called for church and health officials to ensure the patients receive adequate care in dignified conditions. Marking the Jan. 28 World Leprosy Day, Pope Benedict said Hansen's -- the formal name for leprosy -- "is not only a disease, but a social plague." Speaking to pilgrims to Vatican City, the pope offered his thanks to the many church workers who, following in the footsteps of Blessed Damien de Veuster of Molokai and Raoul Follereau, have devoted their lives to serving people with the disease. Blessed Damien is the Belgian-born missionary priest who served Hansen's disease patients on Molokai in Hawaii more than a century ago, while Follereau was a Frenchman who launched World Leprosy Day some 50 years ago in an effort to combat the stigma against the disease.

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