ENI — Europe's largest grouping of churches has noted the continent's steadily growing proportion of people aged more than 65 years old and is calling for the rediscovery of “the interdependence between generations.”
The executive committee of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches said in a statement that less than three per cent of Europe's population was over 65 a generation ago, but that by 2050 it could be 20 per cent, with only half of the population of working age. “Elderly people need the younger as the young need the elderly. Above all, we wish to underline the strength and wisdom given to the elderly by their faith, as an encouragement to younger people to face the challenges of life, until the end, when the time comes to learn to give up in gratefulness, peace and hope.”
