He offered a blessing on both medical care and research, according to the Italian news site ANSI.

Cardiologists worldwide face the challenge of meeting the demand for their care. Almost 1.4 million Europeans under age 75 suffer fatal heart attacks and strokes every year, Pinto stressed, so many lack adequate health care. “Governments, public health systems, clinics, hospitals, universities, we must all recognize the urgency of this public health crisis,” he urged, “And a crisis is exactly what it is, and how it should be seen.”


Pope Francis has addressed medically-oriented conferences before. In April, before the International Conference on the Progress of Regenerative Medicine and its Cultural Impact, sponsored by Pontifical Council for Culture, the Stem for Life Foundation, and the Science Theology and the Ontological Quest Foundation, he noted, according to Radio Vatican that, “it is fundamentally important that we promote greater empathy in society and not remain indifferent to our neighbor's cry for help, including when he or she is suffering from a rare disease.”

He also stressed to that conference the importance of access to care, and that research “requires unwavering attention to moral issues if it is to be an instrument which safeguards human life and the dignity of the person.”

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