Pope: No one should seek to profit from pandemic

Pope Francis said on Wednesday that no one should seek to profit economically or politically from the coronavirus pandemic during his second appearance open to the public since March.

The pope told a crowd of about 500 that COVID-19 should inspire people to work for the common good and warned against vaccine developers and others who focus on earning a profit, Reuters reported. 

“Unfortunately, we are witnessing the emergence of partisan interests. For example, there are those who want to appropriate possible solutions for themselves, such as [developing] vaccines and then selling them to others,” he said during his weekly audience, according to Reuters.

“Some are taking advantage of the situation to foment divisions, to create economic or political advantages, to start or intensify conflict,” he added without naming specific people. 

Pope Francis labeled those who do not address those in need during the pandemic “devotees of Pontius Pilate who simply wash their hands of it,” referencing the ancient Roman official who ordered Jesus’s crucifixion but didn’t take responsibility for it, Reuters reported. 

“The coronavirus is showing us that each person’s true good is a common good and, vice versa, the common good is a true good for the person,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “Health, in addition to being an individual good, is also a public good. A healthy society is one that takes care of everyone’s health.”

The pope had delivered his weekly audiences virtually on Wednesdays for about six months during the shutdowns. Before the pandemic, tens of thousands of followers would gather in person for his weekly address. 

The pope, who lost part of a lung in an illness in his youth, encouraged people to stay in their seats and practice social distancing, according to the news services.