As the Founder and Superior General of Fraternite Notre Dame, I would like to remind you here that we have, as a first concern, to assist all those who suffer either in their heart, body or spirit; and the condition of the aged is a subject that we take to heart.

Concerning the disadvantaged countries, it is certain that the Elderly, just like the children, as the most fragile individuals in society, are the first to endure the economic and social catastrophes of a country. Life expectancy is not long when everyone is forced to struggle for his own personal survival, in order to have hope for a meager, daily meal.

The suffering of starving populations has double the repercussions upon older generations. However, a very important element causes them to hold on: that of their family. The nuclear family, considered as sacred by the ancestral cultures: the aged are generally assisted and surrounded by respect.

We namely think of Africa, where the pillars rest on the wisdom transmitted orally from generation to generation, from the oldest to the youngest. There, rarely do we see a grandfather or a grandmother rejected by their own.

Until their last days, the elderly will remain close to the youngest, by the fire-place, in the heart of a poor house, but at least in dignity and at the attention of those living near them. This is remarkable and gives us cause to reflect.

The sweetness of the aged is a honey of knowledge for the youngest, their experience speaks for them and provides a richness which cannot be replaced.

If we take a look at our so-called “developed” countries, the image is more difficult to catch, as we could first concentrate upon the evidence of better life conditions. Essentially, from the point of view of health, science assures us a greater and greater longevity, and this is a real advancement.

The generations of the world of the elderly represent a high percentage on the scale of the wealthy countries’ populations. Whole economic sectors are based upon services that are reserved for them (specialized hospitals, nursing homes, senior leisure centers, etc…)

One notices that the adult who reaches 65 or 70 years of age, as long as he is alert and in good health, has his entire place in society. Activities are reserved for him, which are sometimes comparable to those of the youth and one can even see senior groups behave as liberally as adolescents.

In our society, it is afflicting at times that our own elderly persons forget their role as grand parents, and sometime prefer to imitate young people, instead of helping them. It is sad indeed, that the wisdom of older generations is lost.

The youth do not benefit from such an abdication of older generations. Everyone lives for him or herself, and our societies are dying from such a separation between the youth and seniors.

But what could we say about the Elderly who, in poor health, are then a burden to their children. Impossible to keep them anymore at home, one says, their presence is no longer desired.

They are briskly shoved to the side, put in specialized houses, where they wait in vain for a visit from their daughter or their son, their niece or their grand children. We see sometime luxurious homes, where the soul and body is left to decline and suffer; prisons made of gold.

Nursing homes are so cruel, when kindness is not on the nurses’ or the doctors’ faces, and when moral mistreatment is secretly inflicted on a person that one considers senile.

This lack of respect is the first step towards an even more sorrowful fact, which goes strictly against Human Rights: the scandal of which we want to speak is the provoked ending of a life, wittingly and willingly, for medical or financial reasons.

Euthanasia is a delicate subject and we know that disarray abounds in front of physical suffering.

Some Elderly, abandoned in nursing homes, with no family or acquaintance, are also too easily victims of the procedure. Stopping life through euthanasia is an act of great responsibility. We hardly see such cases in the history of past civilizations.

In conclusion, we would like to make an appeal on for the re-establishment of the nuclear family. As in the child, watched by his grandparents, who themselves, although sick, teach and shower benevolent tenderness to the new member of the human community, this new little child.

May Elderly persons recognize themselves and act! May they serve as a role model, may they bring moderation in children’s conflicts and may they emanate prudence and peace!

May the fervent example of our grandparents be prolonged, so that our humanity takes back into its hands its spiritual and moral values and makes the hope of Tomorrow bloom again.

[End of the Declaration]