Vatican City, Nov 11, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, announced on Wednesday the program and goals of an international conference on depression to be held at the Vatican November 13-15.
Cardinal Lozano said his dicastery has the duty to become familiar with present-day illnesses and “one of the most important is depression.” “It has been classified as one of the main killers of our time,” he added.
Referring to modern day culture which is “devoid of values, based on well-being and pleasure, and in which economic gains count as the supreme goal,” human beings, he said, “have not been able to escape the ghost of death” despite technological advances and scientific discovery.
According to the Mexican-born Cardinal, sadness and fear of destruction take the upper hand. Death, he affirmed, is “a danger that provokes fear which can turn into depression in all its forms. This is the reason why we thought it was important to reflect on a deeper level on this illness.”