In the words of the late Dr. Paul Farmer, “any serious examination of epidemic disease has always shown that microbes also make a preferential option for the poor. But medicine and its practitioners, even in public health, do so all too rarely. ”
This conversation addressed how poverty increases people’s susceptibility to disease, creates barriers to care, and how Catholic social teaching influences the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, some of the greatest saints have been those who cared fearlessly and compassionately for people suffering from infectious disease. While the Gospels hold many stories of healing, they also reveal the ostracism these people endured. Poverty and stigma often leave communities less equipped to prevent, control, and treat infectious diseases in those who become ill. We explored how multiple forms of marginalization and social exclusion can act as a symptom of and contributor to infectious disease, and how a preferential option for the poor and an affirmation of the dignity of every person can form an ethic of care centered on those most vulnerable to infectious diseases.
A social hour beginning at 6:00 p.m. preceded the conversation. Dinner was provided.
This in-person gathering was co-sponsored by the Georgetown University Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and Magis GUSOM, a student group at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine.
