VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has decried the pursuit for perfect bodies, saying it leads to society hiding away the disabled to avoid offending sensibilities of what he terms "the privileged few."
Francis celebrated Mass Sunday in St. Peter's Square dedicated to disabled people and their caregivers.
The pope said "the world does not become better because only apparently 'perfect' -- not to mention 'made-over' -- people live there," but when solidarity and mutual acceptance and respect increase.
He lamented that "care for one's body has become an obsession" and "big business." Francis said that leads to "anything imperfect" being hidden away since "it threatens the happiness and serenity of the privileged few and endangers the dominant model."
Francis has been championing the cause of those marginalized in many societies.