Vatican City, 4 July 2014 (VIS) – On
28 September Pope Francis will meet elderly people and grandparents
in St. Peter's Square during the first international day dedicated to
old age, organised by the Pontifical Council for the Family. The
encounter, which will take the theme “The blessing of long life”,
coincides with the Day of Prayer for the Synod on the family and is
inspired by the Pontiff's many references to the situation
experienced by the elderly and his frequent comments on the tragedy
of the throwaway culture typical of a “population that does not
care for its elderly” with attitudes “behind which there is a
hidden euthanasia”.
The event is scheduled to begin around
9 a.m. in St. Peter's Square and will culminate with a Holy Mass
celebrated by the Pope at 10.30 a.m. It will be necessary to register
in order to attend, and all information on the event will be
available from 14 July on the website of the Pontifical Council for
the Family (www.familia.va), who may be contacted via email at
events@family.va or by sending a fax to the number 00390669887272.
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president
of the dicastery, presented the encounter as an opportunity to
reaffirm that the elderly “are not merely the object of attention
and care but rather the subjects of a new perspective of life”. He
added, “Thanks to God, our lives have become longer … but on the
other hand, adequate reflection on this theme has not been developed.
It exists neither in politics nor in the economy, nor even in
culture. Therefore, old age must be rethought, and the commitment of
the elderly in the world and in the Church must be reconsidered, as
should the Church's approach to them”.
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