UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Spanish premier and current president of the European Union José Maria Aznar opened the second UN world assembly on ageing in Madrid on 8 April. The assembly, which will continue till 12 April, is devoted to the theme “A society for all ages”. The Spanish prime minister, worried by data that suggest that four European countries are among the five countries at the top of the world league table in terms of the percentage of their population over the age of 65 (Italy now takes top place), pointed out that “the new situation will also require changes in the systems of provision in such a way as to be able to tackle the new challenges posed by a declining birth-rate, the reorganization of working time and reforms to the pension systems”. The European Commissioner for Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, said that “it’s necessary to have a more positive approach to immigration and integrate women and old people in the labour market”. John Paul II, in a letter sent to the Spanish prime minister on 10 April, also stressed the need to guarantee the quality of life in an ageing society. According to the Pope, that means “considering the elderly person in all his/her dignity”, and that “requires a culture capable of overcoming the social stereotypes that regard the value of a person in terms of youth, efficiency and unimpaired health”. The objective is a difficult one which can only be achieved by “applying the principle of solidarity, of reciprocal aid and generational exchange”. The commitment of the Catholic Church to the elderly throughout the world is considerable: Catholic organizations run 532 hospices in Africa, 3,466 in America, 1,456 in Asia, 7,435 in Europe and 349 in Oceania.
