A delegation from the Department of Dentistry of the Federico II University, located in the city of Naples, Italy, interviewed Pope Francis on Friday and listened to his message.
vatican city
Vatican City, Friday, November 29, 2024 (Rei, Vatican Radio): A delegation from the Department of Dentistry of the Federico II University of Naples, Italy, interviewed Pope Francis on Friday and listened to his message.
illustrious clinical tradition
In the message, the Pope said: “I am happy to congratulate you all on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the founding of the University of Naples. This educational institution continues in the name of the Swabian Emperor Frederick II, who founded it. the first Studium Generale in the city of Naples. He laid the foundation for general studies and established one of the oldest universities in the world.
The Pope told the medical students and professors of the Department of Dentistry: “The anniversary that you are celebrating especially invites you doctors to remember the wonderful clinical tradition of which you are heirs and that the University has created. Motto that combines the text of the Greek Hippocrates with the authority of the Latin Scribonius: “First do no harm, second be careful, third heal. First do no harm, then care and then heal.” The Pope said that this is an excellent program and always contemporary.
like the good samaritan
The Pope said: “Do no harm: this reminder may seem unnecessary, but it responds to a healthy realism: it is about, first of all, not increasing the suffering of the patient.
Keep in mind: There is an evangelistic work par excellence, which is like that of the Good Samaritan; But this work must be done in “God’s style,” that is, closeness, compassion and tenderness. “In addition, doctors must keep in mind that the whole person is being treated, not just part.”
The Holy Father said that the ultimate goal of doctors is to provide healing, in which doctors do the work that the Lord Jesus Christ himself did, in this they can be like Jesus Christ, who cured people of all kinds of diseases and illnesses. . Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Pope told dentists: “Be happy for the good work you do for those who suffer.”
Consider human dignity and morality.
The Pope said: “Classical knowledge meets today’s rapidly developing technology, which must never proceed without ethics because it would deny human dignity, which is equal for all.”
He said that without ethics, medicine runs the risk of selling itself to the interests of the market and ideologies instead of dedicating itself to the well-being of the life of the newborn, of the life that suffers and of the indigent life. He said, “The purpose of a doctor’s existence is to cure disease and suffering and that is what he should always do. No life should be sacrificed!”
The Pope expressed his gratitude for the competence and continuity of the work of doctors and called on them to develop a science always dedicated to the service of the person.
