Cardinal Turkson urges not to
ignore the elderly in pandemic
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| A doctor talking to an elderly Covid-19 patient in Madrid, Spain (AFP) |
Cardinal Peter Turkson recalls Pope Francis who calls for
the care and protection of the elderly who nurtured and protected life when it
was young and fragile.
By Vatican News
Up to half of Europe’s Covid-19-related deaths have occurred
among the elderly living in nursing homes and other care facilities.
A report released this week by the World Health Organization
said European nations have focused their attention on hospitals and left those
in care homes without proper help.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Prefect of the Dicastery for
Promoting Integral Human Development, lamented these statistics in an interview
with Vatican Radio.
Cardinal Turkson also urged societies to take care of the
elderly in a sign of inter-generational solidarity.
Old age and the type of experience that the elderly face in
society today, the cardinal said. There are a lot of issues attached to this
experience coming from the cultural dimensions and values systems.
Basically, he said, we need to recognise that there are two
very vulnerable and fragile phases in the life of the human person. The
vulnerability and fragility of life begin in the womb and continues after the
baby is born. Here, parents have a big role in protecting this
life.
Cardinal Turkson then went on to point out that there comes
a time when these parents age and themselves become vulnerable and fragile.
They, in turn, need the care and protection of those they protected
before. There is a need for reciprocity of attention and care between the
generations so as to protect life both at its beginning and at its end.
Unfortunately, he noted, the present Covid-19 situation is
exposing the fragility and vulnerability of the elderly in the homes for the
aged. When the disease broke out, it was already understood that it would
be tough on the elderly due to the vulnerability of advanced age, weakened
biological systems, depressed immune responses, etc., which compromises the
health of the elderly.
Cardinal Turkson said that there is another aspect of
vulnerability that society needs to look at. Since human life itself is
vulnerable, the vulnerable and imperfect human person creates imperfect or
fragile systems and structures.
This becomes visible as inequality in society. Access
to healthcare is not equal for everyone and it is not even available
everywhere.
In this context, he recalled Pope Francis who calls for
appreciating the elderly in society because they are the “bearers of memory”
and witnesses to the culture of society. The inter-generational
solidarity that we often talk about, the Cardinal said, is not only for the
sake of creating a safe future for the young but also for the sake of the
safety of those who are responsible for our being here at this time and point
of history.
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