Ideas of religious gerontology based on the “Letter of his holiness Pope John Paul II to the elderly”
Andrzej Anderwald
Wydział Teologiczny UOAbstract
The aim of this essay is to demonstrate the idea of religious gerontology in the light of the Judeo-Christian tradition, which is the base for “Letter of his holiness Pope John Paul II to the elderly” (1999). Such a specified research perspective tends to show understanding of old age and the place of the elderly within that tradition as well as to work out the efficacy of the religious view in current discussions on matters of old age. This research perspective also intends to provide help for critical analysis of all stereotypes which depreciate the greatness of old age in postmodern societies. The entire reflection comprises the following elements: the temporal and historical plane of human existence, human dignity, talents and hopes of the elderly, practical and eschatological implications of the Judeo-Christian religious gerontology.
Keywords:
religious gerontology, human dignity and talents of the elderly, respect towards the elderly, destination of manReferences
Jan Paweł II, Do moich Braci i Sióstr – ludzi w podeszłym wieku, (1999) (English version: Letter of his holiness Pope John Paul II to the elderly, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_01101999_elderly_en.html [online 24.09.2013].
Brzeziński M., O czci i szacunku wobec ludzi starszych na kanwie listu do osób w podeszłym wieku Jana Pawła II, Roczniki Nauk o Rodzinie i Pracy Socjalnej, KUL 4(2012), s. 253–265.
Kunz R., Was ist Religionsgeronthologie, w: M. Kumlehn, Th. Klie, (red.), Aging – Anti Aging – Pro Aging. Altersdiskurse in theologischer Deutung, Stuttgart 2009, s. 9–32.
Ostański P., Historiozbawcza wizja starości w Piśmie Świętym. Studium egzegetyczno-teologiczne, Poznań 2007.
Pawłowski Z., Starość według Biblii, Pastores (2007) nr 4, s. 7–15.
Strzelec M., Potrzeby osób w podeszłym wieku w nauczaniu Jana Pawła II, w: R. Konieczna-Woźniak (red.), Dorosłość wobec starości. Oczekiwania – radości – dylematy, Poznań 2008, s. 175–185.
