On Tuesday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced the publication of a Letter approved by Pope Francis on 25 June and entitled Samaritanus bonus ("The Good Samaritan"): On the Care of Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life”. It bears 14 July as its publication date, in honor of St Camillus de Lellis, the patron saint of the sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians.
“Incurable cannot mean that care has come at an end” – those who are terminally ill have the right to be welcomed, cured, loved. This is affirmed in Part One of Samaritanus bonus. The Letter aims to provide concrete ways to put into practice the parable of the Good Samaritan, who teaches us that “even when a cure is unlikely or impossible”, medical care, nursing care, psychological and spiritual care “should never be forsaken”.