“Every man is the “beloved of God”, emphasizes the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his message for today’s “World Autism Information and Αwareness-raising Day”.
The Ecumenical Patriarch reminds that “Christ identified Himself with the existentially and socially weak, with the struggling and marginalized people of His time”, while elsewhere he stresses that “the Church of Christ is a place of experience and promotion of the uniqueness and diversity of the humane face and the “communion of persons”.”
“We are all unique and at the same time equal before God,” he adds.
The Ecumenical Patriarch does not fail to mention the wonderful parents, siblings and friends of our fellow human beings who are on the autism spectrum, as well as the social workers and those responsible for state care, as well as the members of the Support Groups for people with autism.
“We honor doctors, psychologists and researchers,” he notes, “all the sensitive and noble souls who love and help these fellow human beings.”
Finally, he expresses his joy for the progress made in the field of studying autism, which “provides significant support to many children on the spectrum of autism, through an appropriate and specialized approach, education and care, creates for them and for their familiars, positive conditions and prospects of development, and in this way their world is illuminated and expanded, life is shared and communication is accomplished in a very unique way”.
