Vatican City, Mar 30, 2020 / 10:16 am
In a private letter to an Argentine judge, Pope Francis is reported to have warned that government decisions to prioritize the economy over people could result in a "viral genocide."
"The governments that face the crisis in this way show the priority of their decisions: the people first. ... It would be sad if they opted for the opposite, which would lead to the death of very many people, something like a viral genocide," Pope Francis wrote in a letter sent March 28, according to America Magazine, which reported it had obtained the letter.
The pope sent a handwritten note in response to a letter from Judge Roberto Andres Gallardo, the president of the Pan-American Committee of Judges for Social Rights, Argentine news agency Telam reported March 29.
"We are all concerned at the increase … of the pandemic," Pope Francis wrote, while praising some governments for "adopting exemplary measures with priorities that are well targeted at defending the population" and serving "the common good."
The pope also said he was "edified by the response of so many people, doctors, nurses, volunteers, religious, priests, who risk their lives to heal and defend healthy people from contagion," Telam reported.