- 03 October, 2025
Vatican, 3 Oct, 2025: Addressing members of the Latin Ibero-American and Caribbean Medical Confederation (CONFEMEL), Pope Leo emphasised the healing power of personal contact and affirmed that artificial intelligence may assist but can never substitute the human presence of doctors. Thanking them for their dedication to quality healthcare, he urged them to preserve the profoundly human dimension of their vocation.
He greeted the representatives of CONFEMEL, which unites more than two million physicians from Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Caribbean. “Thank you for this tireless work,” he said.
Marking the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels on 2 October, the Pope invited those present to reflect on the doctor–patient relationship, which he described as rooted in personal contact and healthcare, similar to the way angels protect and guide us along life’s journey.
Quoting Saint Augustine, he referred to Christ as both physician and medicine: “Ipse medicus, ipse medicamentum.” Jesus, he explained, is “a physician because He is word, and a medicine because He is word made flesh.”
He stressed that “dialogue, communication, and physical contact must always be present in the therapeutic relationship, beyond the instruments and tools used to treat illnesses.”
A healing touch
Reflecting on the Gospel passage where Jesus heals the leper (Mark 1:40–42), Pope Leo underlined that this was “not a mechanical gesture,” but one in which “a personal relationship has been established between the leper and Jesus: the one who could not be touched finds health and salvation in a caress from Jesus.”
The Pope also recalled Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, “one of the best-known doctors in Venezuela at the beginning of the 20th century,” noting how he combined medical competence with service to the poorest, earning the title of “doctor of the poor.”
Technology and human closeness
Turning to artificial intelligence in medicine, Pope Leo described it as a valuable aid in improving clinical care. However, he insisted that it “can never take the place of the doctor,” and, quoting Pope Benedict XVI, he said that doctors are “reservoirs of love, bringing serenity and hope to those who suffer.”
“An algorithm can never replace a gesture of closeness or a word of comfort,” he affirmed.
Hope for the road ahead
Concluding his address, Pope Leo acknowledged the “great and stimulating challenges” confronting medical professionals and encouraged them to face these with hope. He invoked Christ Jesus, “our hope,” and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick, to accompany them “on this pilgrimage we all make toward the Father’s house.”
Courtesy: Vatican News
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