Pope Francis on Monday condemned "baseless" ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, supporting national immunization campaigns and calling health care a moral obligation, Reuters reported.
"Vaccines are not a magical cure, but they are certainly, apart from other treatments that need to be developed, the most sensible solution to prevent disease," Francis said in his annual speech to the diplomatic corps accredited at the Vatican.
He devoted about a fifth of his six-page address to the pandemic and warned against "ideological statements" about vaccination.
Francis also noted that "health care is a moral obligation.
As the publication notes, in the context of the pro-vaccination speech, Francis seemed to be responding to Catholics and other Christians, particularly in the United States, who say they have a religious right to refuse vaccines.
The pope, fully vaccinated, called for a global political commitment to "pursue the good of the population through prevention and immunization."
He repeated his call for equitable distribution of vaccines to poor countries, saying that "monopolistic rules" should be rejected for the good of all.
Francis also repeated his call for the protection of migrants, saying that any country should accept as many as possible.
Regarding climate changes he said that the results of last year's COP26 summit in Glasgow were "rather weak in light of the seriousness of the problem" and expressed hope that action on global warming can be consolidated at COP27, scheduled in Egypt in November.
He reiterated calls for dialogue in areas of conflict or crisis, such as Lebanon, Ukraine and Myanmar, and also called for a ban on the possession of nuclear weapons.
Note that the Vatican has diplomatic relations with 183 states.
