St. Peter’s Basilica considers temperature checks when public Masses resume

Vatican City, Dec 16, 2019 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The elderly are crucial to a society that is respectful of the rights of all, Pope Francis told leaders and members of Italy’s National Association of Elderly Workers on Monday. Speaking at an audience commemorating the 70th anniversary of the organization’s founding, the pope said that “communion” among generations is vital for human dignity and a healthy society.

“Older people, on a social level, should not be considered as a burden, but for what they really are, that is, a resource and a wealth,” said Pope Francis. The elderly, he said, are “a memory of the people,” and valuable contributors to society.

“The biggest challenge that society will face in the coming years is to promote ever more effectively the human resources of the elderly within the community,” he said. The elderly have a “wisdom and experience,” that is key to creating “a world that is more respectful of everyone’s rights.” 

The pope also highlighted the great contribution made through the eldarly’s ability and time to engage in volunteer work, something which benefits both the eldarly themselves and society as a whole. 

Francis praised the benefits of what he called “active aging” in helping to provide people continued dignity in their active lives and noted the importance of fostering a “community of solidarity” among generations. 

“The dreams of the elderly are imbued with memory, and therefore fundamental for the journey of the young, because they are the roots,” he said. The elderly are a “sap” that enable the young people to grow. 

Old age, said the pope, should be viewed as a “season of dialogue” between the old and the young. 

“The future of a people necessarily presupposes a dialogue and an encounter between the elderly and the young for the construction of a more just, more beautiful, more supportive, more Christian society,” he said. “Young people are the strength of the journey of a people and the elderly reinvigorate this force with memory and wisdom.”

He added that the elderly, particularly grandparents, have a “unique and special ability” to handle difficult situations. 

“And when they pray for these situations, their prayer is strong, it’s powerful,” he said. Grandparents, “are entrusted with a great task: to transmit the experience of life, the story of a family, a community, a people.”

The pope also condemned caricatures of the eldarly as “sick, disabled, dependent, isolated, besieged by fears, left aside, and with a weak identity.” Instead, he said, old age should be viewed as a “season of gift and the season of dialogue” and repeated his condemnation of a culture that treats people as disposable resources – old or young.

“Unfortunately, many times young people are discarded, because they have no work, and the elderly are discarded with the pretense of maintaining a ‘balanced’ economic system, at the center of which there is not the human person, but money,” said Francis, adding, “And this is wrong.”

The future, he said, would consist of a dialogue between young people and the elderly. Everyone is “called to counter this poisonous culture of waste,” and that if grandparents do not communicate with their grandchildren, “there will be no future.” 

With these dialogues, society will become more welcoming, human, and inclusive, a society “which does not need to discard those who are weak in body and mind,” he said. 

“This dialogue is the future!”

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Pope Francis prayed the Angelus before over 20,000 faithful at St. Peter’s Square on Sun., Nov. 12, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 12, 2023 / 10:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis reflected on today’s gospel message, urging the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to cultivate the interior life and worry less about making a good impression.

Speaking in his Angelus address on Nov. 12, the pope asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to consider, “How is the oil of my soul: do I nourish it and keep it well?”

The pope turned to the parable of the 10 virgins who are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Five of them were wise and had extra lamp oil to provide light until he arrived, but five were foolish, having brought no extra oil.

The difference between those who prepared their lamps with oil and those who did not is the difference between “goodwill” and “preparation” the Holy Father said. In this way, it reminds us of our own interior life.

“And what is the characteristic of the oil? That it cannot be seen: it is inside the lamps, it is not conspicuous, but without it, the lamps give no light,” said the pope.

The pope also warned that today there are many obstacles to having a genuine moment of inward reflection.

“Let us look at ourselves, and we will see that our life runs the same risk: Today we are very careful about our appearance, the important thing is to take good care of one’s image and make a good impression in front of others.”

“It is the stewardship of the inner life. This means knowing how to stop and listen to one’s heart, to keep watch over one’s own thoughts and feelings,” said the pope.

To engage in the inner reflection and contemplation necessary for a healthy spiritual life requires more than the willingness to listen, he said. “It means knowing how to make room for silence, so as to be capable of listening,” which, he said, often entails making sacrifices.

During the appeal, the pope called attention to the grave situation in Sudan. Conflict broke out in the county between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. The fighting, which has left over 10,000 dead, has been concentrated in the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region.

“I am close to the suffering of those dear people of Sudan, and I make a heartfelt appeal to local leaders to encourage access to humanitarian aid and, with the contribution of the international community, to work towards finding peaceful solutions. Let us not forget these brothers of ours who are being tested,” said the pope.

Following his appeal for those in Sudan, the Holy Father spoke again about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

“Every day our thoughts turn to the very serious situation in Israel and Palestine. I am close to all those who suffer, Palestinians and Israelis. I hug them in this dark moment. And I pray a lot for them.”

“Enough, brothers, enough! In Gaza, the wounded must be helped immediately, civilians must be protected, and much more humanitarian aid must be delivered to that exhausted population. The hostages, among whom there are many elderly people and children, must be freed.”

“Every human being, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, of any people and religion, every human being is sacred, precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace. Let us not lose hope: we pray and work tirelessly so that the sense of humanity prevails over the hardness of hearts,” said the pope.

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Vatican City, Jan 26, 2021 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis on Tuesday afternoon attended the Vatican funeral of his personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, who died earlier this month.

Soccorsi, 78, had been receiving treatment for cancer at Rome’s … […]