Published January 13, 2015
The U.N. goodwill ambassador for eliminating leprosy has written to Pope Francis complaining about his recent comment that careerism among Catholic Church officials was "a leprosy."
In a letter to Francis released Thursday, Ambassador Yohei Sasakawa wrote that such remarks can reinforce discrimination against leprosy patients and their families. He said he feared the Argentine-born pope's comments could have a big impact in South America, "where there are many Catholics and still quite a few people affected by leprosy."
Sasakawa asked for an audience with the pope to update him on the fight against the disease.
Speaking on June 6 to students of the Vatican's diplomatic academy, Francis urged them not to become career-focused bureaucrats but to be missionary priests. He said: "Carreerism is a leprosy, a leprosy."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/un-ambassador-for-leprosy-complains-about-popes-speech-calling-church-careerism-a-leprosy