By Caroline Smith
As Australia’s population continues to age, the need to respect the dignity of older people, provide for their needs and embrace them as important members of our society increases.
This was the main sentiment expressed in the 2016-17 Social Justice Statement launched by the Australian Catholic Bishops earlier this year.
Entitled A Place at the Table, the statement was launched on 6 September at the Australian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) annual conference in Sydney by Emeritus Director of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics, Father Kevin McGovern.
The event opened with a welcome to country by Aboriginal elder and former member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council and Sydney’s Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Auntie Elsie Heiss, who acknowledged the Traditional Owners, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
In launching the statement, Fr McGovern outlined the key issues it addressed, including age discrimination, abuse of the elderly, the provision of services to older people, and the contributions made by older Australians which are often overlooked.
In regards to age discrimination, he identified the job market as the place where the elderly often feel that their experience and knowledge are undervalued.
“While older workers are generally experienced, productive, hard-working and reliable, negative stereotypes mean that they are often unfairly perceived to be hard to train, uncomfortable with new technology, slow and unproductive,” he said.
“This year’s Social Justice Statement reports that in Australia today one person in four aged over 50 has experienced some form of workplace discrimination.”
Fr McGovern added that discriminatory attitudes often ignored the contribution made by older people, who he said were more likely to be giving care than receiving it.
“Some are primary carers, perhaps of their spouse, a disabled adult child, or sometimes their own grandchildren … They are also volunteers who with little or no financial reward contribute to so many community organisations a lifetime of skill, experience and wisdom,” Fr McGovern said.
The valuing of older people – or lack thereof – could also be seen in how society responded to their growing needs through the provision of things like healthcare, homecare, community services and residential aged care – with this too needing a more thoughtful and supportive approach.
“A caring society plans for the provision of these sorts of services. It finds ways to provide these services to those who are unable to pay for them,” Fr McGovern said.
“But if we do not truly value older persons, we will fail to provide older Australians with the assistance and care that they need.”
Addressing the issue of elder abuse – which could be physical, sexual, emotional or financial, and included neglect – Fr McGovern said this too, indicated a lack of value for people based on their age.
He presented a vision of two world views to explain this: “The first … is a worldview which is materialistic, utilitarian and consumerist. In other words, it is concerned only about material reality, and it judges the worth of a person by what they own, what they produce, their net worth, and what they have to spend,” he said.
“Inevitably, this worldview disadvantages those who do not have great wealth, those who are vulnerable, those on the margins. This includes many older Australians.
“The other worldview recognises the dignity and worth and value of each and every human being not because of what we have or do, but simply because of who we are.”
He added that the Christian faith provides a pathway for people to reach the second worldview, as it understands people as being created in the image of God.
“God dwells in every human heart, and each and every human being reveals to us something of God. And as we serve them, we serve Christ, for he has said that insofar as you do this to the least of these brothers and sister of mine, you do it to me,” Fr McGovern said.
Following his presentation of the Statement, a response was provided by writer, adult educator and facilitator Sister Patty Fawkner SGS.
Bishop of the Maronite Diocese of St Maroun and member of the ACSJC, Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, contributed a reflection and thanked those participating.