Pope Francis urges countries to assist one another in fighting COVID-19, in Christmas message

Pope Francis on Friday urged the countries of the world to assist one another in the fight against coronavirus by making its vaccines available for all.

Pope Francis stated this during his annual traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message from a grandiose hall inside the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, instead of from a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square to a usually large crowd.

Pope Francis said: “At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters.

“Today, in this time of darkness and uncertainty during the pandemic, different lights of hope appear, like the discovery of the vaccines … they must be available to everyone.

“I beg all those in charge of states, of companies, of international bodies … to promote cooperation and not competition and to seek a solution for everyone, vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all regions of the globe.”

Pope Francis also called for “generosity and support,” particularly towards those experiencing unemployment, hardship and domestic violence during the pandemic.

Read also: Pope Francis recognizes Joe Biden as winner of US election; congratulates him

“We cannot allow the various forms of nationalism closed in on themselves to prevent us from living as the truly human family that we are.

“Nor can we allow the virus of radical individualism to get the better of us and make us indifferent to the suffering of other brothers and sisters.

“I cannot place myself ahead of others, letting the law of the marketplace and patents take precedence over the law of love and the health of humanity.

“May the Child of Bethlehem help us, then, to be generous, supportive and helpful, especially towards those who are vulnerable, the sick, those unemployed or experiencing hardship due to the economic effects of the pandemic, and women who have suffered domestic violence during these months of lockdown,” he added.

By Emmanuella Ibe…

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