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Pope Francis’ address to the members of the Italian Society of Surgery
Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to meet you on the occasion of the 126.mo National Congress of the Italian Society of Surgery, entitled “The Future of the Surgeon – the Surgeon of the Future“, which is being held here in Rome.
I cordially greet the President of the Society, the members of the Board and all of you.
When you speak of the future, you speak of hope, of project, of commitment.
You have chosen a beautiful theme!
And in this sense your work is precious for man, who is a beautiful and fragile creature, a creature hungry for life and a future and at the same time very vulnerable.
For this reason, it is important that your style is always human and professional, of those who care for the suffering, so that you take them to heart first, combining competence and ethics in all your interventions, according to the culture of health, which is a service to the person in his or her integrity.
Think of the future of the surgeon starting from a culture of devotion to his brother, especially when he is poor and marginalized.
It is always the person who lives and dies, who suffers and heals, not just his organs or tissues.
On the contrary, even doctors risk losing their vocation by placing themselves outside that therapeutic alliance which places the sick or injured at the center.
In fact, modern medicine sometimes tends to focus a lot on the physical dimension of the human being, rather than considering him or her in his or her totality and uniqueness.
In this way, however, the body becomes a naked object of scientific study and technical manipulation, to the detriment of the patient, who takes a back seat.
Instead, science is for man, not man for science! A human science.
Today, at a time when surgery makes use of many new technologies, including artificial intelligence, it is good to remember that nothing can be done without the “hand” of the surgeon. Surgery means “working done with the hand”, “operation with the hand”.
And that’s the way it is: to heal, surgeons have to wound, cut, cut.
Therefore, when you hold in your hands the human body, created in the image of God, act as “artisans of health”, working for others with the same care with which you would like to be treated.
Reflect on the gestures that you, as professionals, you can put into practice, together, as a team with your collaborators, and do not be afraid to promote, especially among young people, a human, scientific, technological and psychological formation: this is where the best qualities of future surgeons will come from.
