The elderly are a gift and a resource

“Let us transform the crisis due to COVID-19 into an opportunity for a paradigm shift, and for rethinking the way in which we view the elderly.”

This presupposition, expressed by the General Secretaries of COMECE (the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union) and FAFCE (the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe), introduces the reflection contained in the document “The Elderly and the Future of Europe: Intergenerational solidarity and care in times of demographic change,” published on 3 December. The text addresses the challenges posed by demographic change and the ongoing health crisis.

While considering the vulnerabilities of the elderly, which the months of the pandemic have highlighted once again, the authors seek to underscore the role of the elderly generation in the construction of the peaceful Europe we know and, above all, the role they have in the continent’s future.

The document contains a series of concrete proposals, aimed at European Unition policy makers, which would allow for the full participation of the elderly in the life of the communities to which they belong, and to value them as a resource for families.