Vatican diplomat: the elderly should not be victims of a culture of efficiency

September 19, 2014

A leading Holy See diplomat has expressed concern about the ways in which the elderly are discarded by a culture that values economic efficiency above all else.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, who represents the Holy See at UN offices in Geneva, said that “today’s efficient society tends to marginalize our vulnerable brothers and sisters, including older persons, as if they were only a weight and a problem for society.”

The prelate lamented that “increasing numbers of aging persons [are] being constrained to leave their traditional and familiar homes in high-income countries to seek haven in developing regions of the world where the cost of long-term care is much less expensive. Surely, when we speak of preserving the enjoyment of all human rights, it is essential to respect and preserve, as far as possible, the bonds of older persons with loved ones and with a familiar environment.”

He added:

The Holy See defends and upholds the right to life for all persons, from the moment of conception until natural death, and thus finds most alarming the increasing utilization of so-called "assisted suicide," as well as the comments by some government officials that such extreme and harmful actions may warrant additional consideration since they could offer cost-saving benefits during a period of economic crisis.

Mr. President, a purely economic and functional approach toward elderly persons risks to create a culture where the weakest and most fragile members of society — the unborn, the poorest, the sick and elderly, the seriously handicapped, etc. — are in danger of being ‘thrown away’ from a system that must be efficient at all costs and thus impoverish society of their wisdom, experience, and enriching presence.

 

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Further information:

• Intervento della Santa Sede alla XXVII Sessione Ordinaria del Consiglio dei Diritti dell’Uomo a Ginevra sulla protezione dei diritti umani delle persone anziane (Holy See Press Office)