Photo: Vatican Media Handout Homeless people receive Covid-19 vaccine in the Vatican
Pope Francis is working to ensure that poor people who are assisted by Holy See facilities for the homeless be offered the possibility of being vaccinated against Covid-19.
A statement released on Wednesday by the Holy See Press Office said that 25 homeless persons were inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
One of those who received the first dose of the vaccine was Mario, who told Vatican News’ Michele Raviart that he feels that now he has “extra security”.
Pope Francis had affirmed his desire that a part of the vaccinations available for the vaccination campaign in the Vatican be offered to those most in need.
“We thank the Pope for this gift,” said Mario, also on behalf of the other 24 people present on Wednesday morning in the Paul VI Hall.
Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said those vaccinated Wednesday morning are part of a group of people who regularly receive assistance from the Office of Papal Charities. He added that other poor people will receive the vaccine in the coming days.
Pope to Biden: foster peace and reconciliation in the US and the world
Pope Francis sent a message to President Joe Biden, urging him to be a bringer of peace and reconciliation to the United States and to the whole world.
Pope Francis opened his message to US President Joe Biden saying, “On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-sixth President of the United States of America, I extend cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office”.
“At a time when the grave crises facing our human family call for farsighted and united responses,” Pope Francis writes in his message, “I pray that your decisions will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom, together with unfailing respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those who have no voice.”
Concluding his message, Pope Francis writes, “I likewise ask God, the source of all wisdom and truth, to guide your efforts… With these sentiments, I willingly invoke upon you and your family and the beloved American people an abundance of blessings”.
Pope Francis urges nations to eliminate nuclear weapons
Pope Francis said nuclear weapons “strike large numbers of people” and provoke long-lasting damage to the environment”, and expressed support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The Treaty, which came into force Friday January 22, is the first legally binding international agreement to prohibit signatory states from developing, testing, producing, stockpiling, stationing, transferring, and using or threatening to use nuclear arms.
Pope Francis encouraged all States and people to “work with determination to promote the conditions necessary for a world without nuclear arms”.
The best way to do this, added the Pope, is by “contributing to the advancement of peace and multilateral cooperation, which humanity greatly needs”.
The Vatican became the first state to sign and ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, signed it at the UN Headquarters in New York on 20 September 2017, the first day it was open for signatures. It reached the required 50 signatures in late October 2020.