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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Pope Decries Pandemic's Culture of Individuality

Relatives and bystanders, some of them wearing protective suits line up to get oxygen cylinders for the patients outside a hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. India has the third-highest coronavirus caseload in the world after the United States and Brazil. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Pope Francis has denounced a culture of individuality revealed by the pandemic, which has sacrificed the care of the weakest members of society.

Francis, speaking at his Wednesday audience called on the faithful to "overcome our personal and collective individualism" as experts work to find a cure for the coronavirus, "which hit us all indiscriminately."

The pontiff said that `´the pandemic has revealed how vulnerable and interconnected we all are," while also making us "more aware of the spread within our societies of a false, individualistic way of thinking, one that rejects human dignity and relationships, views persons as consumer goods and creates a `throw-away´ culture."

He called on people to "look with care at our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer,´´ and recognize "human dignity in every person, whatever their race, language, or condition."

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