Aging in the Holy Scripture: The Human Responsibility for the Elderly Grounded On Ontology and Bioethics

Abstract

On September 28, 2014, the Holy Father Pope Francis, at the initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Family, participated in the day dedicated to the elderly. The meeting took place in “Saint Peter” market in Rome and was attended by tens of thousands of old people and grandparents with their families from many countries. Pope Benedict XVI emeritus being invited by Pope Francis also attended the meeting entitled “Blessing of a long life”. It was also supported the position of bioethics, called to contrast the poisonous culture of the “rebut” that’s been done a lot of harm to our world. The infants, the young (because they did not work), even the old claim to maintain a “balanced” economic system where not the person is to be found, but the money. We the Christians, together with all people of good will, are called to patiently build a different society: warm, human, inclusive, which does not need to throw the weak in body and mind, on the contrary, a society capable to measure its own “step” just according to the elderly. It is essential to pay attention to [...] more lonely and abandoned elderly. In this paper we follow the religious understanding of the old age in the light of The Holy Scripture (the long life and approaching death; the life experience and progress in wisdom; the old symbol of eternity), skin aging and the Church’s position on the issue of elderly care, and explain how this palliative responsibility is ontological and bioethical grounded for the elderly and not someone else’s interests.