Pope Leo XIV champions universal healthcare during speech in Uruguay weeks after lung cancer surgery

November 7, 2026 / 12:36 PM EST / CBS News

Montevideo – Pope Leo XIV drew on his own recent experience of illness and hospitalization after surgery for lung cancer on Friday to make an impassioned appeal for universal access to healthcare, greater social equality and a society that does not measure people's worth by their productivity or wealth.

"Recently I experienced firsthand the limitations imposed by illness and I received care for which I am grateful," the Pope said in his first speech after arriving in Uruguay, to the country's political and civic leaders.

Pope Leo XIV was released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital four days after removing a cancerous tumor from his right lung. "The experience made me think of the many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis or receive the treatment they need."

"Ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, regardless of their resources, is a duty that confronts every society," he said.

Uruguay is the first stop of a 12-day trip that also includes Argentina and Peru. Leo's doctors said he needed no further treatment after his operation and was cleared to travel. The trip schedule is the longest international journey…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/