Vatican meetings of parliament chaplains and on care of elderly with degenerative disorders

November 12, 2013 - The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is organizing a 2-day meeting this week for priests who minister to politicians in parliaments. The first of the kind, the Nov. 14 – 15 meeting will discuss the pastoral care of politicians, their spiritual guidance and the promotion of the common good. The meeting is being held to commemorate 10 years of a note issued by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the duty and behaviour of Catholics in politics, and 50 years of Pope John XXII’s 1963 social encyclical, “Pacem in Terris” which, among other things, urges the world to promote and defend the dignity of the person in all its forms. The meetings will examine the teaching of the Church on the commitment of Christian politicians and issue related to it, such as ethics, bioethics, religious liberty and the rights of family and migrants.
Meanwhile, more than 400 participants from around the globe will be arriving in Rome for a 3-day international conference next week organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. The 28^th international conference, Nov. 21 -23, will discuss the Church’s service to the elderly sick, especially caring for persons with neurodegenerative disorders. The underlying approach to the various issues of the theme will be one of theological and pastoral perspective and the action of the Catholic Church.