Dhaka (AsiaNews) - "You, who take care of others for a living, should do it with love, so that your patients get the comfort they need. If you perform properly your job of caring and helping, you will get a great deal of satisfaction from your work," said Mgr Theotonius Gomes CSC, president of the Episcopal Commission for Healthcare, during a seminar held on 28 February at Dhaka's Samorita Hospital.
Organised by the local archdiocese, the seminar's goal was to boost the spirituality of Catholic doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, most of whom work in non-Catholic hospitals. Some 32 people took part in the initiative.
Dr Edward Pallab Rozario, secretary of the Association of Bangladesh Catholic Doctors, was one of the speakers. "As healthcare workers," he said, "the first thing we should do is take care of our family, and learn to help patients as if they were our relatives. It is our God-given vocation."
Rani, a nurse who attended the seminar, said she was impressed by it. "I learnt how to do better my work, and with greater warmth," she noted.
In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, about a thousand Catholics - including doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers - work in various healthcare facilities.