By Francesca Merlo
Introducing the panel, Christiane Murray, Vice Director of the Holy See Press Office, noted that the theme of old age is one that Pope Francis has highlighted throughout the entirety of his pontificate, especially in the troubling times of coronavirus.
The Church points to a dawn of new time
Opening the discussions was Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. He noted that with this document, “the Academy for Life intends to underline the urgency of a new attention to elderly people. He explained that the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed this inability of contemporary society to take proper care of its elderly . This, he continued, truly brings to light that throwaway culture of which Pope Francis speaks so often, which in this case has caused countless tragedies among the elderly . Archbishop Paglia noted that all around the world, those who have been affected most by this pandemic are the elderly. To date, there is tal
10 Feb 2021
ROME The Vatican is urging a paradigm shift in care for older people while decrying the “massacre” of the elderly from the coronavirus, chiefly in nursing homes.
Noting that more than half of Italian deaths from the coronavirus occurred in nursing homes, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said Tuesday in a live-streamed press conference that the coronavirus deaths have been “brutal in their cruelty” and constitute “a real massacre of the elderly.”
“Data from some countries for example Italy show that half of the elderly victims of Covid-19 [coronavirus] came out of institutions and residential care homes, while only 24 percent of overall deaths concern the elderly who lived at home,” said Archbishop Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Pandemic shows need for new model of care for elderly, academy says
Pandemic shows need for new model of care for elderly, academy says
An elderly woman crosses a square to receive a free lunch from the municipal social services, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Athens, Greece, Dec. 22, 2020. The Pontifical Academy for Life has released a document on the post-pandemic future for the elderly. (CNS photo/Costas Baltas, Reuters)
By: Carol Glatz
Date: February 9, 2021
VATICAN CITY (CNS) A new attitude and approach toward the elderly are needed in today’s world, especially in the places and ways they are cared for when they become more fragile, said the Pontifical Academy for Life.
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By Msgr. Renzo Pegoraro
People can be confident that the approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and ethical and that receiving the vaccine is an expression of solidarity and our responsibility to work for the common good.
The worldwide commitment of many scientists and public and private institutions, the availability of scientific knowledge in the virological and oncological fields, the relevant funding and the reduction of certain bureaucratic steps all have made it possible to have tested vaccines in a few months, vaccines that are safe and approved by the competent authorities.
Real protection
By vaccinating a large number of people now, it will be possible to offer real protection while subsequently studying the duration of immunity to define future protocols more accurately. This whole process has been the subject of ethical reflection, including by the Catholic Church, considering the entire “life cycle” of the vaccine from its production to its approval, through to its d