The attitude of those who protest – oppose to the restrictive measures in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was stigmatized by Pope Francis, in contrast, as he characteristically stated, with the “urban heroes”, who fight daily so that “no one is left behind against the pandemic”.
“At the moment, two behaviors are being recorded,” he said in an interview with Politika. “On the one hand we have the authentic “urban heroes”, who quietly, with solidarity, daily self-denial and tangible offer, take responsibility towards their neighbor and seek concrete solutions so that no one is neglected.”
“On the other hand, we have an increase in the number of those who are exploiting, gaining from the suffering of others and thinking only of themselves, who are protesting against the restrictive measures, unable to accept that not everyone has the same capabilities and means to face the pandemic”.
In his interview, as reported by protagon.gr, the Pope also pointed out that the pandemic has brought to the fore organizational and developmental models, “highlighting injustices, painful silences, social and health failures, putting many people in processes of social exclusion […] “We have limited progress and development to simple economic growth, forgetting that authentic development must concern all peoples and humans as a whole,” said Pope Francis.