[ad_1]
Pope Francis’s fragility was at full view when he left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital last Sunday after five weeks with pneumonia that almost killed him. He could barely raise his arms to bless the crowd. His eyes were sunk, blown up with his face. And he breathed visibly as he was driven from the balcony inward.
Throughout history, the powerful hid their weaknesses. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the most photographed figure of his era, made the effort to hide his crippled arm. Franklin Delano Roosevelt hid the use of a wheelchair. More recently, former President Biden has shaken off concerns about his cognitive abilities.
By contrast, Francis, a spiritual and not political leader, has never been ashamed to show his weakness. For many people, his willingness to be seen in all his flaws as an example for young and old that fragility is part of the human condition – and must be embraced.
“Who cares if he had sunken eyes, who cares when he looks bloated. It is part of his life story. He knows it’s going to end. I saw him live his life. He wants to keep doing what he does best, ” says S. Jay Olshansky, a gerontologist at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Francis’s fragility is an integral part of his ministry of inclusion, which preaches against the treatment of people on the sidelines as disposable, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for Life.
‘Pressure for American believers should not be avoided or excluded. On the contrary, it’s a wonderful teaching, “” Paglia said in an interview. ” This is in a sharp contrast to an efficiency -oriented culture, with a performance culture. ”
“It is not a state or a business, it is a community of believers, a family. And in a family, it is possible to give an authorative leadership, even if not to full physical power, ” Paglia said. He added that it was also an important lesson for young people ‘who must understand that they are also fragile, otherwise they will conclude themselves. ”
Paglia opened a long life in the Vatican this week, underlining that as the population of the elderly grows, there must be an attitude of attitude, so that the longer lifespan must live to its full life.
‘We need to reconsider the idea of retirement. These 20, 30 years more must also have a cultural, human and spiritual weight for all the other ages. They are not disposable, ” he said.
Dr Francesco Vaia, a proponent of rights for the disabled, also said the message of the pope is especially crucial in an outdated world.
“The theme is not only to get older, but to be active, it’s to give us more quality longer lives,” he said. ” We move to an inclusive society, ” which is contrary to a ‘throwaway world in which the weak, disabled, the elderly are pushed aside’. ‘
‘Let’s overcome the Superman and Superwoman theory. We are men and women with our fragility and disabilities, ” Vaia said. ‘ This pope can continue to be pope.
Even the fact that he saw Francis with the nasal breathing tubes, while being driven to the Vatican, normalizes a life fact to many elderly people living with oxygen tanks. “We shouldn’t be ashamed of this,” Vaia said.
Pope John Paul II was also regularly praised for showing his suffering during his long game with Parkinson disease. But the Vatican also tried a lot to hide his fragility. He has never been seen in a wheelchair, for example, he was printed on a rolling wooden chair or on a moving platform.
Francis comes to arriving in wheelchairs, and is seen in a more formal seat for masses or to address believers.
He did not keep away from showing his weakened condition from the hospital. An audio recording of his rare audible, labor voice is three weeks on his hospitalization on St. Peter’s Square played as a first sign of life. This was followed by a photo of him fellow fellow mass, from the back of his personal hospital chapel.
While Francis’s appearance on the balcony in hospital does not necessarily project vitality, the doctor who coordinated his hospital treatment considered it a sign of his power.
“You saw when he looked out, he was fragile. But his power is that, even with a little trouble, he could give the blessing, “Dr. Sergio Alfieri said: “He looked at the square and welcomed the lady with the yellow flowers, as if to say,” I have a good mood. ” He is strong in this sense, a strong spirit. ‘
[ad_2]
Source link
