Your Excellencies, the Bishops,
Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors
Distinguished Speakers and Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we come to the close of this important international Seminar on “The Catholic Church Towards the Problem of Smoking Harm Reduction,” I have the honor and privilege to propose a vote of thanks and acknowledge the contribution of those who worked around the clock to make the dream of an international seminar on this topical issue a reality. It has been rightly affirmed that smoking is one of the greatest tragedies afflicting society today (statistics out there speak for themselves) and it therefore constitutes a challenge to all those who are interested in the defence of life as well as the promotion of both human dignity and integral human development.
At this juncture, I wish to thank first of all the chief organizers of this Seminar Amici Pro Sanitate for naturing this idea and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for supporting this event wholeheartedly. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Ambassador Przemyslaw Häuser- Schöneich, thank you for initiating this noble venture, thank you for sharing with us that touching and dramatic experience of the loss of your dear brother due to the smoking hazard, and the lessons you took away from that tragic event, this is a sign for all of us, of how sad moments of our lives could with God’s grace be a starting point for commitment to positive action, in an endeavor to change and save lives.
I wish to acknowledge and thank those who have worked closely with you to shape the shared ideas into the seminar we have been privileged to participate in today. In primis, we thank Bishop Ariel Edgardo Torrado Mosconi, Bishop of Nueve de Julio (Argentina), Prof. Robert Necek (Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow - Poland), Fr. Marcin, the excellent moderators, the secretariat, the journalists, all the distinguished speakers and participants, we are grateful for the knowledge, experiences and insights you have shared with us today. Our sincere gratitude to the Authorities of Santa Croce University for accepting to host us in this prestigious Auditorium.
This International Seminar has in different ways reiterated the message of Pope Francis to all of us, that “each human life is unique and unrepeatable, and has an inestimable value.” We hope that the reflections on the problem of smoking may help many people to become aware that physical health is a gift that God has given to us and that we must take care of it responsibly.
The Seminar we are concluding now puts us in the momentum towards the commemoration of the next World No Tobacco Day this coming 31 May, whose purpose is to raise awareness and understanding on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use, around the theme “Tobacco is killing us and our planet.” The challenge before us is big, however, together we shall move forward with renewed hope and courage.
To all of you thank you for your precious contribution and may we all move forward with a renewed commitment to the noble cause of saving human lives from the tragedy of smoking.
Thank you!

Msgr. Charles Namugera
Official
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
Holy See

Msgr. Charles Namugera is an official of the Dicastrery for Promoting Integral Human Development of the Holy See. He was ordained Priest on 3 August 1991 and incardinated in the Diocese of Masaka, in Uganda. He specialized in Sacred Liturgy, Theology of Health Care and Clinical Pastoral Education. He served nine years at the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, which in 2017 was merged with other three Pontifical Councils to form the current Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In September 2010 he was appointed Chaplain of the Holy Father. Msgr. Namugera has since 2011 served on various missions as member of the Holy See Delegation to the Executive Board and the World Health Assembly of WHO, to the WHO/Europe Regional Committee Meetings and the WHO/Africa Regional Committee and to the Symposium of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe to Combat Drug Abuse and illicit trafficking in Drugs.