Vatican City
AP
Pope Francis says all segments of society, especially the poor, have a role to play in making the world a better place after the coronavirus and that drug companies shouldn’t get a bigger say than front line health workers.
Francis called Wednesday for an inclusive rethink of the economic, social and political structures of the global economy that have showed their weaknesses during the pandemic. He spoke during his weekly general audience, held in a Vatican courtyard before a few dozen masked faithful.
Francis has long insisted on the need to involve society’s most marginalised groups, such as Indigenous, poor and elderly people, in making decisions about their own futures.
On Wednesday, he extended that concept to the virus, saying: “Everyone needs to have the possibility of assuming responsibility in the process of healing the society of which he or she is a part.”
The Pope added: “The large pharmaceutical companies are listened to more than the healthcare workers employed on the front lines in hospitals or in refugee camps. This is not a good path.”
Francis next week is expected to release an encyclical on fraternity and solidarity in the post-COVID world.
