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MESSAGE FROM THE
PREFECT OF THE DICASTERY
FOR PROMOTING INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE 69th WORLD LEPROSY DAY
Sunday, 30 January 2022
Message from Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ
To the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences,
To the Bishops responsible for Health Pastoral Care,
To Men and Women Religious,
To social, healthcare and pastoral workers,
To volunteers and all persons of good will,
“United in Dignity”
Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) is a devastating, although curable, neglected
tropical disease that has been in decline for several decades. Since multidrug
therapy was introduced in the 1980s, the physical symptoms of this illness have
become manageable and have given hope for the eventual elimination of leprosy
all together. Nonetheless, “the global incidence remains high, and patients
often have long-term complications associated with the disease.”[1]
This past year some 127,000 new cases were reported, a significantly lower
number than the previous year, although the decrease is likely due to lesser
detection and reporting during the pandemic.[2]
Beyond the daunting physical challenges associated with leprosy, the
discouraging reality of stigma remains a formidable obstacle to total health and
healing. The World Health Organization states “it is estimated that 3-4 million
people are living with the visible impairments or deformities due to leprosy.
Because both the ‘label’ of leprosy and the disability it causes result in
social exclusion in many communities, the number of people experiencing
leprosy-related stigma is likely to be even greater.”[3]
The theme for World Leprosy Day this year is, “United in Dignity,” and it
confidently proposes that everyone who experiences leprosy has a right to a
decent life free from disease-related stigma and discrimination. In many places
of the world where leprosy is prevalent, “affected individuals continue to live
as outcasts, leading to myriad mental health issues and perpetuating a cycle of
ill health.”[4] People with leprosy
often bear a double burden; not only do they have to cope with the physical
reality of the disease, but “many people with leprosy experience anxiety,
depression, psychological distress, isolation and suicidal ideation.”[5]
An integral vision of health envisions the corporeal dimension as well as the
spiritual, encompassing one’s psychological health and the physical body.
Stigma and discrimination affect the whole person, and they require the full
response of individuals and of an integrated, compassionate community.
In his encyclical letter,
Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis refers to the
parable of Jesus about the Good Samaritan, where the victim of a robbery lies
wounded and vulnerable on the side of the road. He is passed by several times
without receiving any help or assistance. Pope Francis writes, “We cannot be
indifferent to suffering; we cannot allow anyone to go through life as an
outcast. Instead, we should feel indignant, challenged to emerge from our
comfortable isolation and to be changed by our contact with human suffering.
This is the meaning of dignity.”[6]
To be united in dignity means to be transformed, to see things differently and
to act accordingly.
In our care for those with leprosy we must never let stigma and discrimination
divide us. It is our common human dignity that knits us together as one. Jesus
Christ teaches us this significant reality by his words, and even more so by his
example. “Throughout his ministry,” indicates Pope Francis, “he met many sick
people; he took on their suffering; he tore down the walls of stigma and of
marginalization that prevented so many of them from feeling respected and
loved. For Jesus, disease is never an obstacle to encountering people, but
rather, the contrary. He taught us that the human person is always precious,
always endowed with a dignity that nothing and no one can erase, not even
disease.”[7]
Experts agree that “probably one of the most effective methods to reduce
stigmatization is early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.”[8]
The COVID-19 pandemic has made this very difficult for many places in the world
as it has complicated health care in general. But no pandemic can change the
dignity of the human person nor his or her inviolable worth and value in
society, for when “the dignity of the human person is respected, and his or her
rights recognized and guaranteed, creativity and interdependence thrive, and the
creativity of the human personality is released through actions that further the
common good.”[9] This will be the end
result of our being united in dignity, the fruitfulness of creativity that
enables communities and individuals to recognize the value of every person,
especially those who suffer from illness and disability.
Responding successfully to the challenge of leprosy is well within our grasp as
medicine and technology have provided helps and cures that were never before
available. Early detection and multidrug therapy continue to bring hope and
healing to thousands. What remains for us now is to move forward united in
dignity, in the hope that we will also see stigma and discrimination soon in
decline. May Our Lady, Help of the Sick, continue to intercede for us, that we
may recognize in all persons that unique dignity and value that God has
entrusted to the human family.
[1] White C., Franco-Parades C. “Leprosy in the 21st Century,”
Clin. Microbiol Rev. 28:80-94.
[2] World Health Organization (WHO), “Weekly Epidemiological Record,” No. 36,
10 September 2021.
[3] WHO, Towards Zero Leprosy: Global Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Strategy
2021-2030, 10.
[4] “Abandoning the Stigma of Leprosy,” Ed.,
Lancet, Vol. 393, 2 February
2019.
[5] WHO, Mental Health of People with Neglected Tropical Diseases: Toward a
Person-Centred Approach, 5.
[6] Pope Francis,
Fratelli Tutti, 68.
[7] Pope Francis, “Address to Huntington’s Disease Patients and their
Families,” 18 May 2017.
[8] Kabir S. and Khurana A., “Leprosy Stigma and the Relevance of Emergent
Therapeutic Options,”Indian J Med Res 151: 1-5, January 2020.
[9] Pope Francis,
Fratelli Tutti, 22.
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