"A culture of profit insists on painting the elderly as a burden, a 'dead weight'. It thinks that the elderly don’t produce anything and therefore are a burden". "There is something vile in this addiction we have to this throw away culture. We have become used to discarding people." "The Church cannot and does not want to comply with a mentality of impatience, and even less that of indifference and contempt towards old age".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Today, there is " culture of profit insists on painting the elderly as a burden, a 'dead weight'. It thinks that the elderly don't produce anything and therefore are a burden: in short, they should be discarded ", but it is ugly to see the elderly" discarded, what's more "it's a sin" and a society that "discards" the elderly, who are a "peoples' depository of wisdom", is infected with death.

Continuing in his catechesis dedicated to the theme of the family, Pope Francis today spoke of the elderly.  He said that they will also be the subject of his general audience next week.  

Speaking to the 20 thousand people were in St. Peter's Square the Pope said that in our society today advances in medicine have "extended our life's span but have not opened up to life. The number of older people has multiplied, but our societies are not organized enough to make room for them, with proper respect and concrete consideration for their fragility and dignity. As long as we are young, we are led to ignore old age, as if it were a disease, a disease to be kept at a distance, then when we become older, especially if we are poor, if we are sick, if we are alone, we experience the shortcomings of a society programmed for efficiency, which consequently ignores the elderly. And older people are an asset, we cannot ignore them".

"Benedict XVI - continued the Pope - visiting a nursing home, used clear and prophetic words, when he said this:" The quality of a society, I would say of a civilization, is judged also on how the elderly are treated and the place reserved for them in the common life."(12 November 2012). It's true, care for and attention to the elderly makes the difference in a civilization. Is there attention to the elderly in a civilization? Is there room for the elderly? This civilization will progress because it knows how to respect wisdom, the wisdom of its elders. In a society where there is no place for the elderly, where they are discarded, because they create problems, this society carries the virus of death".

"In the West, the scholars present the current century as the century of aging: there are less children, there are more elderly. This imbalance challenges us, indeed, it is a great challenge for contemporary society. Yet culture of profit insists on painting the elderly as a burden, a 'dead weight'. It thinks that the elderly don't produce anything and therefore are a burden: in short, what is the result of this way of thinking? They are discarded. It is sad to see the elderly discarded, it is bad, it is a sin! You don't dare say it openly, but you do it! There is something vile in this addiction we have to this throw away culture. We have become used to discarding people. We want to remove our heightened fear of weakness and vulnerability, but in doing so we  heighten the anguish of the elderly of being poorly tolerated and abandoned".

"once in my ministry in Buenos Aires I had firsthand experience of this reality with its problems. The elderly are abandoned, and not only left in precarious material need. They are abandoned in selfish inability to accept their limits that reflect our limitations, in the many difficulties which today they must overcome to survive in a society that does not allow them to participate, to have their say, nor to be points of referents according to consumer model of 'only the young can be useful and can enjoy life'. Instead the elderly are, for all societies, the depository of our wisdom. The elderly are a peoples' depository of wisdom! How easily our consciousness can been put to sleep  when there is no love !. And this i show it happens".

"I remember - Francis continued - when visiting nursing homes, talking to everyone and often  I have heard this: 'Oh, how are you? And your children? - Well, well -How many have you? - So many. - And do they come to visit? - Yes, yes, always, yes, they come, come. - And when did they last come to visit? '. And so the old people, I remember one especially, said:' Well, for Christmas' . It was August! Eight months without being visited by their children, abandoned for eight months! This is called a mortal sin, do you understand? ".

"In the tradition of the Church - he continued  - there is a wealth of wisdom that has always supported a culture of closeness to the elderly, provided for an affectionate and supportive accompaniment in this final stage of life. This tradition is rooted in Sacred Scripture, as witnessed for example by these expressions of the Book of Sirach: " Do not reject the tradition of the elders which they have heard from their ancestors; For from it you will learn how to answer when the need arises(Sir 8;9). The Church can not and does not want to comply with a mentality of impatience, and even less of indifference and contempt towards old age. We must awaken the collective sense of gratitude, of appreciation, of hospitality, helping the elderly to feel part of their community".

"The elderly are men and women, fathers and mothers who walked before us on our own streets, in our own home, in our daily struggle for a decent life. They are men and women from whom we have received a lot. The elderly are not alien. The elderly are us: soon, it's not far off, inevitably, even if we think about it. If we do not treat the elderly well, we will not be treated well either".

"We, elderly, are all a little fragile" - concluded the Pope. "Some, however, are particularly weak, many are lonely, and marked by illness. Some depend on necessary care and attention of others. For this we should we take a backward step? Abandon them to their fate? A society without closeness, where gratuity and affection without compensation - even among strangers - are disappearing, is a perverse society. The Church, faithful to the Word of God, cannot tolerate these degenerations. A Christian community in which closeness and gratuity were no longer considered indispensable, would lose its soul. Where there is no honor for the elderly, there is no future for young people".

 

 

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• pope
• francis
• general
• audience
• elderly