Vatican City (Vatican), 18 March (LaPresse) – “In many countries, health inequalities are growing: fewer people are able to access the healthcare services on offer.” “Health cannot be a luxury for the few, but is an essential prerequisite for social peace.” So said Pope Leo XIV as he received the participants of the conference ‘Who is my neighbour today?’. “Universal healthcare coverage is not merely a technical objective to be achieved; it is first and foremost a moral imperative for societies that wish to call themselves just. The protection and care of health must be accessible to the most vulnerable, because this is required by their dignity and also to prevent injustice from becoming a seed of conflict,” added the Pope, who then said: “The Churches in Europe and throughout the world, in collaboration with international organisations, can still play a decisive role today in combating health inequalities, in favour of the most vulnerable populations.”