Conference at Vatican focuses on
pastoral care of the elderly
 |
| Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life |
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is hosting an
International Conference on the pastoral care of the elderly, set to take place
in Rome from 29-31 January.
By Christopher Wells
Responding to Pope Francis’ call for the elderly to become
“protagonists”, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has organized an
International Conference on the pastoral care of the elderly, entitled “The
Richness of Many Years of Life”. The meeting will focus on how to
deal with the culture of “discarding” the elderly, as well as their role in the
family, and their particular vocation in the Church.
In an interview with Vatican News ahead of the Conference,
the Prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, said that our
contemporary “throwaway” culture tends to set people aside; and he acknowledged
that even in the Church, the elderly are sometimes forgotten. “Anybody that’s
worked in a parish, especially in developed countries, knows that the elderly
live a very lonely existence”, he said. “They need to become protagonists,
because of the great experience that they have for the many years of life”.
The elderly as protagonists
Cardinal Farrell said that for the elderly to become
protagonists means that “the Church needs to care for them, the Church needs to
reach out”. That, he said, is one of the reasons for the seminar: “to reach out
to the world, and see what exactly is happening in the Church”.
He said it’s very important for the Church to make use of
the “many years of experience” the elderly bring with them. In particular, the
Cardinal noted that in many families, grandparents play a huge role in raising
and educating the younger generations. At the same time, he said, we must care
for their needs. “We need to promote this, we need to promote a desire to care
for the elderly, among everyone, and not to abandon… the elderly. They have a
lot to offer.”
“We need to find out what is the best instrument to do all
of this”, Cardinal Farrell said, “and that is why we are having this seminar”.
The International Conference on the pastoral care of the
elderly is taking place in Rome from 29-31 January, and will include
representatives of Episcopal Conferences, religious congregations, associations
and lay movement from around the world involved in this pastoral work.
Participants will also be received by Pope Francis in a
special audience.
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