Pope says society needs to move
“in step” with the elderly
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| Pope meeting Italian Association of Elderly Workers (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis meets with Italy’s National Association of
Elderly Workers and confirms we need the wisdom and experience of the aged to
build a world more respectful of the rights of all.
By Vatican News
Founded in 1949, Italy’s National Association of Elderly
Workers brings together older professionals who still want to contribute to
society with their skills and experience. Meeting with representatives of the
Association in the Vatican on Monday, to mark the 70th anniversary of their
foundation, Pope Francis focused on ageing in terms two seasons: the season of
gift, and the season of dialogue.
The season of gift
The Pope stressed the contribution of the elderly to
voluntary activities and caring for others in need. “Volunteering is an
experience that is good for both the recipient and the person doing it”, he
said. “Commitment to others can counteract the perception of loneliness,
improve cognitive performance and increase mental well-being”. Engaging in
volunteering promotes what is called "active ageing", said Pope
Francis. It allows the elderly to be protagonists “in the construction of a
community of solidarity”.
The Pope identified the biggest challenge for society in the
coming years as being that of promoting “the human resources that older people
bring to the community with increasing effectiveness”. This means activating
solidarity networks, he said, and considering the aged as “bearers of dreams”.
The dreams of the elderly are imbued with memory, said Pope Francis, “and
therefore fundamental for the journey of the young”.
The season of dialogue
Old age is “the season of dialogue”, said the Pope, because
it “presupposes a dialogue and an encounter between the elderly and the young
in order to build a society that is more just, more beautiful, more supportive,
more Christian”. Old age is a time of grace, he continued, in which the Lord
renews His call to us: “He calls us to preserve and pass on our faith, to pray,
to intercede, to be close to those in need”.
The elderly, grandparents, “have a unique and special
ability to grasp the most problematic situations,” continued Pope Francis, “and
their prayer is powerful.” They are entrusted with the great task of
transmitting “the experience of life, the history of a family, a community, a
people”. “If grandparents do not talk to their grandchildren, there will be no
future”, the Pope added.
Building a more inclusive society
“Living old age as the season of gift and the season of
dialogue”, said Pope Francis, contradicts the stereotype of the elderly as
“sick, disabled, dependent, alone, and afraid”. Instead, it emphasizes “the
resources and potential of the elderly”. Too often the elderly are discarded in
the name of maintaining a "balanced" economic system, “at the centre
of which there is not the human person, but money”, said the Pope.
“We are all called to counter this poisonous culture of
waste”, concluded Pope Francis. We are called to build a more welcoming, more
human, more inclusive society, “which does not need to discard those who are
weak in body and mind”, but that moves “in step” with them.
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