ROME, DEC. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Pediatric hospitals must not rob one of hope, in fact, they can be the occasion for people to reflect on the «meaning of life,» says Benedict XVI’s secretary of state.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone offered this reflection during his visit today to the Bambino Gesu Hospital, where he brought the children Christmas greetings.
The cardinal said the Holy Father has great hopes in Rome’s best known pediatric hospital, saying he keeps up to date on its successes and efforts
On Sept. 30, 2005, the Pontiff himself visited the Bambino Gesu, describing it as an outpost of the evangelizing action of the Christian community.
«Christmas is the feast of children and where there is a child, Heaven showers down all the beauty and goodness of the world,» said Cardinal Bertone during his visit to the hospital.
The Pontiff’s closest collaborator spoke of Benedict’s message for the upcoming World Day of Peace, in which he emphasizes that ideologies do not save the world, but only God does. The cardinal said that also for gravely ill children, hope is in God.
Cardinal Bertone praised the Bambino Gesu Hospital not only for its «avant-garde interventions» but also for the spirit of hospitality made concrete in the «hospitalization and active and loving care of bedridden little ones.»
If in every child-patient «the face of Jesus is recognized,» everything «becomes less difficult,» he added. To see the littlest ones suffer «invites us to look at ourselves and to find that way of hope that our heart demands.»
