Needlessly taking free medicine from the State is a grave moral shortcoming, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech warns in his pastoral letter today.

Mgr Grech said while it was extremely positive to have a free healthcare system, there were those who abused it and the services provided by hospitals and clinics.

“When we do this, we are depriving those who really need the service. It is also a grave theft when somebody financially profits from a person’s illness,” Mgr Grech said.

In his pastoral letter, released ahead of the Santa Marija feast on Thursday, Mgr Grech focused on the importance of ensuring the Church was close to its ailing congregation. He also announced he would be appointing his delegate to take on a bigger pastoral commitment towards the sick.

Mgr Grech highlighted the value of care that should go hand in hand with a cure. Medical assistance should move away from being purely mechanised and maintain a “human face”.

“When a person is sick and loses his physical beauty and strength, he should still be respected and his dignity should never be diminished,” he said.

The frail, sick and the elderly should be protected from any abuse or conditioning as the greed for wealth could see them being manipulated to change their will.

“It is the right of those who are ill not to be left alone when they are at death’s door. It would be inhuman to die alone,” he said.