Barcelona was the chosen venue for the 22nd International Congress of Catholic medical associations (FIAMC), held from 11 to 14 May. Theme of the congress: poverty in the context of globalization. The Archbishop of Barcelona, the Most Rev. Lluís Martínez Sistach, in his keynote address, urged the need for “greater awareness” of the “situation of exaggerated inequality between the care of the sick in the developed and underdeveloped countries”. “This shocking disparity – said the Archbishop – underlines the lack of justice and solidarity between the countries of the earth in their access to basic necessities”. The only solution, he said, is “a world policy of the globalization of solidarity”, given that “there is an “abundance of goods and services in some parts of the world”, especially in the “developed North”, while “the South suffers from an inadmissible shortages”. He also pointed out that “where medicine is not a commercial enterprise, as in Africa, it is the Churches and the Christian confessions that mainly devote themselves to the sick”. The Congress had 5 official sessions, 6 workshops and over 50 ancillary activities and exhibitions. The aim was to examine how Catholic physicians can help reduce poverty in the world.
