As part of his trip to Canada, Pope Francis visited the pilgrimage site of Lac Sainte-Anne, Alberta, on July 26, a day dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus, according to the Christian religion.
I followed this report on my small screen, and the comments that I heard there concerning the veneration of the Aboriginal people for the elderly literally touched me, so much the First Nations dedicate an almost sacred worship to the elders.
It was enough for me to make my spirit travel here, in our Quebec families. You will easily understand that the shock was brutal. Indeed, whether we like it or not, our seniors do not in any way receive, here in Quebec, the respect that Aboriginal people give to their elders. And it is very sad! We need only think of the thousands of seniors who died in pitiful, even scandalous, conditions in CHSLDs during the second wave of COVID-19. In this regard, it seems to me quite legitimate to ask if such a massacre could have occurred on indigenous lands… […]
Aboriginal people place respect at the very top of their pyramid of values, especially respect for the elderly, who above all embody wisdom. Perhaps we could take inspiration from it and finally recognize the essential contribution of seniors to the evolution of our society… instead of locking them up, too often, alas, in places of death!
To see in video