A CIVILIZATION'S WORTH MEASURED BY ITS ATTENTION TO THE AGED

VATICAN CITY, OCT 7, 1999 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke on October 5 before the plenary of the General Assembly on Item 106, the follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons. "It has been said," he stated, "that the worth of a civilization is to be measured by the attention it offers to its aged."

"We live in an age of sweeping demographic change," he noted, "a time when the estimated population of the aged in the world is 600 million out of 6 billion,and when it is estimated to grow to 2 billion out of 8.9 billion by 2050."

The nuncio continued: "For too long, however, the aged have been a neglected, often invisible sector of the population. ... Many of the aged are fragile and ill and do not have access to adequate health care. Some institutions do not want to maintain the chronically ill or those who are unlikely to recover, and insurers do not want to pay for them"

Archbishop Martino underlined the economic difficulties older people often suffer, as well as "loneliness and a sense of marginalization. In a world which values productivity so highly, elderly people are often deemed unproductive and, indeed, are too often considered a burden to others."

He also underscored that the Holy See, and notably Pope John Paul, are "strongly convinced of the value of older people, with their accumulated experience, skills and wisdom, based on their unique, irreplaceable humanity." He added that "this concern is manifested ... in the 12,000 (Church-run) nursing homes for the aged."

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