VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 046
DATE 05-03-2015

Summary:
- To the Academy for Life: abandonment is the worst affliction for the elderly
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 To the Academy for Life: abandonment is the worst affliction for the elderly
 Vatican City, 5 March 2015 (VIS) - "Palliative care expresses the typically
human attitude of caring for each other, especially for those who suffer. It
is the demonstration that the human person always remains precious, even when
elderly or afflicted by illness. Indeed, the person is in any circumstance
valuable to himself and to others, and loved by God. Therefore, when life
becomes very fragile and the end of earthly life comes close, we feel the
responsibility to look after and accompany the person in the best way
possible", said the Pope this morning, as he received in audience the members
of the Pontifical Academy for Life, on the occasion of their general assembly
on the theme "Assisting the elderly and palliative care".
 "The biblical commandment to honour our parents reminds us in a broader sense
of our duty to honour all elderly people. God links a dual promise to this
commandment: 'so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord
your God is giving you'. Obedience to this commandment ensures not only the
gift of the land, but above all the possibility of making use of it. ... The
precept reveals to us the fundamental pedagogic relationship between parents
and children, between the elderly and the young, with reference to the
stewardship and transmission of religious teaching and wisdom to future
generations. Honour this teaching, and those who transmit it are a source of
life and blessing. On the contrary, the Bible severely admonishes those who
neglect or mistreat their parents".
 "The Word of God is always living and we can see clearly how the commandment
proves to be relevant to contemporary society, in which the logic of utility
often takes precedence over that of solidarity and gratuitousness, even within
families", he continued. "'To honour' may be translated as the duty to have
extreme respect and take care of those who, on account of their physical or
social condition, could be left - or made - to die. Medicine has a special
role within society as testimony to the honour due to an elderly person and to
every human being. Evidence and efficiency cannot be the only criteria
governing the work of doctors, and nor can the rules of healthcare systems and
economic profit. A State cannot expect to profit from medicine".
 The Bishop of Rome remarked that the Assembly of the Academy for Life has
studied new sectors for the application of palliative care which until now
have been of valuable assistance to cancer patients. However, it may now be
applied to a wide range of illnesses, often linked to old age and
characterised by chronic and progressive degeneration. "The elderly need,
first and foremost, the care of their families - whose affection cannot be
substituted even by the most efficient structures or by the most competent and
charitable healthcare workers", he emphasised. Palliative care is "an
important help for the elderly who, for reasons of seniority, receive less
attention in terms of curative medicine and are often neglected. Abandonment
is the most serious 'malady' to afflict the elderly, and also the greatest
injustice they can suffer; those who have helped us to grow should not be
abandoned when they need our help, our love, our tenderness".
 Francis concluded his address by encouraging healthcare professionals and
medical students to specialise in this type of care, "which does not have less
value on account of the fact that it is not 'lifesaving'. Palliative care
involves something equally important: it accentuates the value of the person.
Therefore, I urge all those who, in various ways, work in this sector to carry
out their task in the spirit of service and recalling that all medical
knowledge is truly science, in its most noble sense, only if it may assist the
good of mankind, which can never be achieved by opposing life and dignity".

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 5 March 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Archbishop Thomas Yeh Sheng-nan, apostolic nuncio in Algeria and Tunisia;
 - Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent, apostolic nuncio in Haiti;
 - Archbishop Marek Solczynski, apostolic nuncio in Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan;
 - Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 5 March 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Bishop Herve Giraud of Soissons, France as archbishop of Sens (area 7,427,
population 342,724, Catholics 208,900, priests 106, permanent deacons 21,
religious 180), France, and prelate of the territorial prelature of "Mission
de France" o Pontigny. He succeeds Bishop Yves Patenotre, whose resignation
from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was
accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa as apostolic nuncio in Honduras. The archbishop
is currently apostolic nuncio in Angola, Santo Tome and Principe.

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