Vatican City, 21 Nov 2013: Continuing his efforts to promote a “culture of encounter”
with the disabled, Pope Francis again embraced a severely disfigured man after his
Nov. 20 weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square.
The Pope spoke with a man who
lacks facial features, embraced him and gave him a blessing. Pope Francis then smiled
at the man, kissed him and gestured toward the sky in the midst of a crowded square.
The
cause of the man’s disfigurement was not known. His identity is also not known, the
British newspaper The Daily Mail reports.
It is the second time this month
that the Pope’s hospitality towards the disfigured has drawn public attention.
At
the end of his Nov. 6 audience, Pope Francis warmly embraced Vincio Riva, an Italian
man suffering from severe tumors all over his body. His disorder is known as nerofibromatosis,
a genetic condition.
The Pope received Riva for several minutes, took the man’s
face in his hands, kissed him and gave him a blessing. Riva later said he “felt only
love” by the action, noting that the Pope did not know whether his condition was contagious.
Though
previous Popes have also made a habit of greeting the disabled, Pope Francis has drawn
unique media attention for his actions.
At World Youth Day in July, Pope Francis
welcomed a newborn girl born with anencephaly, who lacks a part of her skull and brain.
The Pope blessed the child and her parents during the July 28 Mass on Copacabana beach.
In
a June audio message to the Italian Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired,
Pope Francis called for a “culture of encounter, solidarity and hospitality” with
the disabled that encourages their “active participation” in society. Source: CNA