Beyond the Disease: "...Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

Today, the concepts of health and illness require a global vision of man; the suffering of the person places the entire environment in great difficulty: health professionals, family, society. It is important not to simplify the response to a purely health-focused view of the disorder, because fragile people possess a deep need to feel welcomed, listened to, understood and accepted. Service provision that is respectful of the dignity of the person is an important challenge both for those who are responsible for providing services to individuals and their families as well as for the entire community. Therefore in providing care the human qualities of the health professional and not only his technical skills come into play: blending together science and humanitarian ethos. The provision of care therefore "forces" us to broaden our horizons and requires us to face the challenge of responsibility towards the Other, the human condition of being-for. However, ethical capacity cannot be born solely out of sharing standards or adhering to regulations and respecting prohibitions: it stems from high and unconditional moral values and meanings. The ME-YOU relationship represents the primary ethical factor of the human being: my responsibility towards the Other is unconditional. In the book of Genesis when the Lord asks Cain: "... where is Abel, your brother?" He responds with another question: "Am I my brother's keeper?" In this biblical passage Cain kills Abel: the rejection of brotherhood and the care of the other only leads to the death of the Other. "Where is your brother?" This question is crucial in today's day and age and must be taken seriously: it is the decisive question that forces us to decide how to place ourselves in relationship with the other and with the world: do we choose proximity or distance, connection or indifference?