Pope Francis warned Wednesday against classified prioritization for administering COVID-19 faxes.
The world could emerge from the coronavirus pandemic “or better or worse,” the pontiff said in improvised remarks during a weekly public address in the Vatican. “We need to get out better.”
Even with the devastating pandemic, the pope said, the world cannot function with current levels of social injustice and environmental degradation.
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“How sad it would be if, for the COVID-19 vaccine, priority was given to the richest,” he said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic had “bare” class inequality.
Pope Francis blows from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday 5 July 2020. (AP Photo / Riccardo De Luca)
The pope also pointed out that it would be unforgivably bad if economic bailouts resulted in the revival of industry that did not help the planet as the suffering that suffers the most, adding that the virus had “found its way,” [devastatingly] great inequality and discrimination ‘and has stepped up.
Many poor people were unable to take refuge against the threat of the fatal disease, and door-to-door orders designed to limit the spread have marked socio-economic disparities, Francis said.
While finding the cure for coronavirus is essential, the world must also work together to combat the “big virus” of injustice such as the inequality of chance and marginalization, he said.
“Today we have the opportunity to build something else. For example, we can grow an economy of integrated development of the poor and not of welfare, ‘he said.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that any nation that conserves potential COVID-19 vaccines would exacerbate the pandemic and encourage countries to participate in a global pact until 31 August to share their findings with developing countries.
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Currently, more than 150 vaccines are in development, with just a handful in late-stage tests.
To date, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reports that more than 22 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide, with nearly 800,000 deaths.
