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A few reminders to nourish our actions, invent and create,
at the service of the elderly
:

As I announced in my introduction, I repeat what I think is important for the coming months:

The congress "the richness of many of years of life" remains a reference; it was there that the will to recognize the full place of the elderly in the Church and society was affirmed with determination; It is here that the rejection of a "throw-away" civilization was firmly affirmed, a civilization of "waste" that would marginalize the elderly, isolated or dependent. Hence the need for LAI:

  • to commit to the pastoral care of the elderly; South America is one step ahead on this issue, the bishops of the DRC have produced a rich document that echoes what was said at the congress, Spain has already created in some dioceses an office of pastoral care for the elderly, in which members of LAI participate. LA Uganda responds to the spiritual needs of elders but also informs them about their rights and does prevention in the field of health. Let's act!
  • to meet the spiritual needs of the elderly; in the speech I made at this congress, and which I invite you to reread, I relied on requests made by people from my team of the Christian Movement of Pensioners (MCR): much older, they experienced "the renunciations" that aging implies; how to accept them in peace, how to find serenity in the face of death. The France is opening a project on this issue. Let’s act!
  • to keep the intergenerational bond alive; the Holy Father continues to call for an alliance between young and old: in January 2020: "The elderly are also the present and the tomorrow of the Church; yes, they are the future of a Church that, together with young people, prophesies and dreams"; in July 2021: "Who, better than young people, can take the dreams of the elderly and transform them into reality?" . The Holy Father reformulates this link as follows: "to watch over the roots, to remember, to transmit the faith, to build, in fraternity, the world of tomorrow". World Day of Grandparents and Elderly is a reality of this idea. Many national movements have carried out actions for which I congratulate them, and which must be repeated. Spain has set up meetings between grandparents and young children to keep this bond of memory alive. Let's mobilize like Spain, let's mobilize for the next World Day of Grandparents and Elderly in July 2023.

Let us invent a more fraternal world for and with the elderly who always need our presence and support; and may our commitment be strengthened by contact with a youth that cannot be opened to the future, without the memory and roots of the elderly.

The President.