Pope: "the abandonment is the most serious 'illness' of the elderly", who must be helped at the end of their life
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Abandonment is the most serious 'illness' of the elderly, and also the greatest injustice they can suffer," said Pope Francis. However, "when life becomes very fragile and the end of earthly existence approaches, we feel the responsibility to assist and accompany the person in the best way" and relieve their suffering. This is what families and palliative care provide.
In his address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, the pontiff spoke about 'Assisting the elderly and palliative care'. For him, "all medical knowledge is truly science, in its most noble sense, only if it finds its place as a help in view of the good of man, a good that is never achieved by going 'against' his life and dignity."
"Palliative care," Pope Francis noted, "is an expression of the properly human attitude of taking care of one another, especially of those who suffer. It bears witness that the human person is always precious, even if marked by age and sickness. The human person, in fact, in whatever circumstance, is a good in and of himself and for others, and is loved by God. For this reason, when life becomes very fragile and the end of earthly existence approaches, we feel the responsibility to assist and accompany the person in the best way.
"The biblical commandment that requires us to honour our parents, understood broadly, reminds us of the honour we must show to all elderly people. God associates a double promise with this commandment: 'that you may have a long life' (Ex 20:12) and, the other, 'that you might prosper' (Dt 5:16). Faithfulness to the fourth commandment assures us not only of the gifts of the earth, but especially of the possibility of enjoying them. In fact, the wisdom that makes us recognize the value of the elderly person and that brings us to honour them, is the same wisdom that allows us to appreciate the numerous gifts that we receive every day from the providential hand of the Father, and to be happy. The precept reveals to us fundamental pedagogical relationship between parents and children, between the elderly and the young, with regard to the preservation and transmission of the teachings of religion and wisdom to future generations. To honour this teaching and those who pass it on is the source of life and blessing."
"On the contrary, the Bible reserves a severe warning for those who neglect or mistreat their parents (cf. Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9). The same judgement applies today when parents, having become older and less useful, are marginalized to the point of abandonment."
"The Word of God is always living, and we see well how the commandment proves topical for contemporary society, where the logic of utility takes precedence over that of solidarity and gratitude, even within families."
"To honour today might well be translated as the duty to have extreme respect and to take care of those who, because of their physical or social condition, could be left to die, or made to die. All medicine has a special role within society as a witness of the honour that is due to elderly persons, and to every human being. Neither the medical evidence and efficiency, nor the rules of health care systems and economic profit, can be the only criteria governing the actions of doctors. A State cannot think of making a profit with medicine. On the contrary, there is no more important duty for a society than safeguarding the human person."
For the pontiff, "The elderly, first of all, need the care of family members - whose affection cannot be replaced by more efficient structures or more competent and charitable healthcare workers. When this is not sufficient, or in the case of advanced or terminal illness, the elderly can be benefitted by truly human assistance, and receive adequate responses to their needs thanks to palliative care offered in such a way that it supplements and supports the care provided by family members. Palliative care has to objective of alleviating suffering in the last stages of illness and at the same time of assuring the patient of adequate human accompaniment (cf. Evang. Vitae, 65). It deals with the important support for the elderly, who, for reasons of age, often receive less attention from curative medicine, and are often abandoned. Abandonment is the most serious 'illness' of the elderly, and also the greatest injustice they can suffer: those who helped us to grow must not be abandoned when they need our help, our love, and our tenderness."
"I therefore welcome your scientific and culture efforts to ensure that palliative care can reach all those who need it. I encourage professionals and students to specialize in this type of assistance, which has no less value on account of the fact that it 'does not save lives.' Palliative care recognizes something equally important: recognizing the value of the person. I urge all those who, under whatever title, are involved in the field of palliative care, to practice this duty of conserving the spirit of service in its fullness and recalling that all medical knowledge is truly science, in its most noble sense, only if it finds its place as a help in view of the good of man, a good that is never achieved by going "against" his life and dignity."
"It is this capacity for service to the life and dignity of the sick, even when they are old, that is the measure of the true progress of medicine, and of all society. I repeat the appeal of Saint John Paul II: "Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!"
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