Bishops in DR Congo Announce Intention to Boost Pastoral Care to Elderly Persons

This year, the occasion is to be marked on Sunday, July 25, a day the Holy Father is expected to preside over a special Eucharist celebration in honor of elderly persons across the globe, according to the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

In their February 27 pastoral letter titled, “They still bear fruit in old age,” CENCO members express concerns about the situation of senior citizens globally and especially in the Central African nation.

“It is also sad to note that today, the dignity and place of the elderly in the world in general and in our country in particular are tending to change, the old social order is being overthrown. The social prestige enjoyed by elderly persons is being replaced by attitudes of rejection, exclusion, marginalization and abuse,” Catholic Bishops in DRC say.

They add, “Old age is perceived more in terms of illness, deficit, misery, impoverishment, crowding, burden and death.”

“After having suffered for the education of their children and family members, some elderly persons have found themselves at the end of their lives cut off from family relationships to live alone, on the streets or in boarding schools,” the members of CENCO say.

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Many elderly persons facing difficulties in the DRC are exposed to begging and travelling long distances in search of food, the Bishops say and continue, “The most deplorable attitude is the rejection by family members of some elderly persons accused of practicing witchcraft.”

These attitudes towards elderly persons come from a narrow and erroneous conception of old age as a “period of uselessness, inefficiency, loss of fertility and creativity,” they explain.

Against this backdrop, the Bishops call for change of attitude toward elderly persons.

“We must love them, value them as daughters and sons of God by taking their needs into account and putting ourselves at their service through various works of charity,” they urge, adding, “We must do everything possible in our pastoral work to take their situation to heart and to make the most of their gifts and abilities so that their fruitfulness may be realized.”

The Bishops invite young people to “take a new look at old age. Love and respect the elderly by making a gesture of tenderness towards them, especially the most abandoned, in homes and residences, those who no longer see their loved ones.”

In their latest collective statement, CENCO members urge pastoral agents to “seek communion in the Church Body of Christ by involving all people and especially the elderly. Involve them in the transmission of the faith, in dialogue with young people and in the preservation of the roots of peoples.”

“All Catholic action groups, communities, associations and movements must include in their program (and) activities directed towards elderly persons and families,” the Bishops further urge in their pastoral letter.

They go on to “reassure elderly persons of our support and closeness to them and encourage them to make use of their abilities, talents and charisma.”

CENCO express their conviction that elderly persons “have a lot to give and they can still give a lot to the life of the Church-Family of God, which is in DR Congo and to our society.”

“May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Savior and of the Church, constantly support all the elderly and inspire them by her example of serenity in times of trial,” the members of CENCO implore in their collective letter in which they announce their intention to enhance pastoral care to elderly persons.

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Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.