January 25, 2013 - The Vatican on Friday called for more Good Samaritans to engage
in the treatment and service of those affected by leprosy or Hansen’s disease, saying
there is still lack of access to centres and treatment for the disease that can deform
and disable if untreated. The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care
issued a message on the occasion of 60th World Leprosy Day, Sunday, Jan 27. The
message signed by Council president, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, cited World Health
Organization figures, which said that about 220,000 men, women and children contracted
leprosy in 2011 and many of these new cases were diagnosed when the disease was at
an advanced stage. This, he said, indicates there is still insufficient level of
access to centres that offer diagnoses and of a lack of education as regards prevention
in communities that run the risk of contagion, as well as the need for specifically
designed medical and hygienic initiatives. On the occasion of the 60th World Leprosy
Day, Archbishop Zimowski invited all to be good Samaritans to those in need, and held
out examples such as St. Damian of Molokai, St. Marianne Cope, Blessed Mother Theresa
of Calcutta and Raoul Follereau, the Frenchman who began the World Leprosy Day.
The prelate also called on victims of leprosy to cooperate in establishing a more
inclusive and just society where those who have been cured are integrated.