VATICAN - Benedict XVI tells Pontifical Council for the Family: “May grandparents return to being a living presence in the family, in the Church and in society.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “May grandparents return to being a living presence in the family, in the Church and in society. In regards to the family, grandparents continue to be witnesses of unity, values founded on fidelity to a single love that generates faith and joy in living. The so-called new models of the family and widespread relativism threaten the fundamental values of the family nucleus...In the face of this crisis of the family, shouldn’t we once again return to the presence and testimony of the grandparents who can offer a greater strength of values and ideas?” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, whose theme was: “Grandparents: Their Witness and Presence in the Family” and who were received in an audience April 5, at the close of their Assembly.
The Pope, first of all, thanked the Pontifical Council for the Family for having chosen as their theme his own words spoken in the World Meeting of Families in Valencia. He then mentioned how the topic in question must be a very familiar one to all: “Who doesn’t remember their grandparents? Who can forget their presence and testimony in the home? How many of us bear their same names in a sign of their continuity and recognition!...They have given of themselves for us, they have made sacrifices for us, and in some cases, they have even laid down their own lives.” The Holy Father later mentioned that “the Church has always had a special regard for grandparents, recognizing the great worth they hold in the human and social landscape, as well as in the religious and spiritual realm,” repeating quotes from addresses given by Paul VI and the Letter to the Elderly by John Paul II, that even today “retain their pertinence for the current human, social, and cultural situation.”
Taking up the theme of the Plenary Assembly, Benedict XVI pointed out that “in the past, grandparents played an important role in the life and growth of the family. Even at an elderly age, they continued to be present in the lives of their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, offering a vital testimony of care, sacrifice, and daily self-donation without limits.” Today, however, “the elderly, among whom there are many grandparents, find themselves in a kind of ‘parking lot’: Some feel themselves as a burden on the family and prefer to live alone or in nursing homes, with all the consequences that these choices have. Unfortunately, the culture of death seems to be advancing, threatening even the older generations. With growing insistence one arrives at proposing euthanasia as a solution for resolving certain difficult situations.”
“Old age, with its problems that are also linked to new familial and social contexts on account of modern developments, must be evaluated with care and always in light of the truth about man, the family and the community,” in response to all that tries to dehumanize society, the Pope said. The Holy Father encourages the parish communities, diocese, associations, and ecclesial movements to unite their efforts “to defeat together every marginalization because not only are grandfathers, grandmothers, and the elderly in general overwhelmed by the individualistic mentality, but everyone. If grandparents constitute a precious resource, as is often said and from many quarters, then consistent choices must be made that permit this resource to be properly valued.”
At the close of his address, the Pope encouraged those present to look towards the 4th World Meeting of Families that will be celebrated in January 2009, in Mexico City, expressing his gratitude to Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico, “for all that he has already done during these months of preparation, together with his collaborators,” and asked that “ecclesial communities, especially family groups, movements and associations, prepare themselves spiritually for this event of grace.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 7/4/2008 righe 50, parole 645)