The Second WHO European Health Equity Status Report initiative (HESRi2) will be presented on March 18 in Rome during the event “Today who is my neighbor”, organized by the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The program includes a session reserved for delegates from the European Bishops’ Conferences and the WHO. After an audience with the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, participants will gather in the Aula Magna of the CEI for an initial moment of reflection and discussion. Those taking part will include Mons. Giuseppe BATURI, General Secretary of the Italian Bishops’ Conference; Antonio TAJANI, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Hans Henri KLUGE, Regional Director of WHO Europe; and Cardinal Matteo ZUPPI, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
Starting at 3:00 p.m., the public session will take place in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Lateran University. The Lectio entitled “The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing another’s pain”, provided by the biblical scholar Stefano VUARAN, will be followed by speeches by KLUGE, H.E. Msgr. Gintaras GRUŠAS, President of the CCEE, Orazio SCHILLACI, Minister of Health of the Italian Government, Alberto SIRACUSANO, President of the Superior Health Council, Chris BROWN, Head of the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development, and by Mons. BATURI.
“The question ‘Today who is my neighbor?’ sheds light on the World Health Organization’s European report on health equity: our neighbor is the one who suffers because of inequalities in healthcare, and the Church in Europe is called to give a voice to the most vulnerable and to promote concrete solidarity,” emphasizes Msgr. GRUŠAS, President of the CCEE.
“Life is never useless, and for this reason no one must be abandoned or left behind because of their physical, psychological, or social condition, their origin, or their religious affiliation. Everyone — individual citizens, institutions, and the ecclesial community — must care for their neighbor: compassion is not sentimentalism, but a concrete way to build peace and work together for the common good,” states Cardinal ZUPPI, President of the CEI.