SW News: Pope Francis criticized the 'covert euthanasia' of some healthcare systems, which denies the sick and aged in particular access to all the medications required for their recovery.

The Holy Father brought this up when he met with members of the Religious Association of Socio-Health Institutes of Italy, or ARIS, at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican.

He emphasized that the Church has done much through healthcare to listen and pay attention to the poor, weak, and abandoned segments of society. Pope Francis insisted that no one must feel alone in illness. He said, on the contrary, each person should be supported in his or her questions of meaning and helped to walk the sometimes long and tiring road of infirmity with Christian hope.

He then focused on the disposable or throwaway culture, saying that it can show its painful consequences more than elsewhere, sometimes obviously.

Pope Francis believes that when the sick are not placed at the center and are not considered in their dignity, attitudes are generated that can even lead to speculation about the misfortunes of others, which should make one alert.

The pontiff made a point of highlighting the significance of recovering the foundational charism of Catholic health in order to apply it in this new historical situation. He said to achieve this; it is a must to undertake paths of discernment and make courageous decisions, remembering that one’s vocation is to be on the frontier of need and the Church has to respond to the health needs of the poorest, the excluded and those who, for economic or cultural reasons, see their needs neglected.

The Holy Father urged religiously inspired health organizations to have the courage to unite and network, fleeing from any competitive spirit, uniting skills and resources and, perhaps, constituting new juridical entities, through which they can especially help the smallest realities in light of the complex reality of today.

"Don't be afraid to take new paths; risk, risk, risk - to prevent our hospitals from being alienated for only economic reasons; it is dangerous."

The Holy Father also called a meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Activities of the Health Sector of Public Legal Persons of the Church and asked everyone in attendance to work actively and constructively together.