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Policy
and Guidelines for
The Catholic Committee on the Elderly
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The
2000 CBCT Pastoral Master Plan has denoted the Vision and
Mission as follows:
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Vision
The people of God, united in love, seek - follow and proclaim
Jesus Christ
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Mission
The Church in Thailand, dedicating and harmonizing their lives
with Christ, through the Word and Sacraments, are united,
cooperate and share with one another, seek the value of the
kingdom of God within the social context, dialogue with our
brothers and sisters of other faiths, proclaim Jesus Christ
and be witness by living a simple life, love and serve others
especially the poor.
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| The
Catholic Committee on the Elderly as part of the CBCT is aware
of and accept the above-mentioned vision and mission. It will
study and develop the strategy to put it down into practice
for benefits of the elderly in Thailand. |
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| Rationale |
| 1.
Ecclesial Dimension: Whatever mission is carried out for benefits
of the elderly it is done for, by, amidst and in the name of
the Church. What follows is the awareness that everybody is
member of the Church - having the right and duty as a member
of the Church, hence: |
| 1.1 |
Familiarize oneself with the teaching, encyclicals and faith
of the Church and also learn about the culture in relation to
the elderly. |
| 1.2 |
In order to respond to the contemporary urgent needs of the
Church there should be a close watch on the "signs of times"
through discernment under guidance of the Holy Spirit on the
basis that love and service are the main mission of Jesus Christ
and the Church, |
| 1.3
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Be
sensitive to all the problems that threaten life and reduce
the value and dignity of the elderly. |
| 1.4 |
Participate in the work of the Church as best as one can. |
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| 2.
KOINONIA: The one-heart dimension which can be subcategorized
as follows: |
| 2.1 |
Unity of the committee members who cooperate in the brain-storming
and giving honest opinions for benefits of the elderly. |
| 2.2 |
Unity of the elderly people through their groupings at the parish
and diocesan level. |
| 2.3 |
Reduce
the gap between the elderly and the young people. |
| 2.4 |
Allow the elderly to live happily in the society, become part
of the society and the Church: meaning - there is always room
for the elderly whether outside or inside (the heart). |
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| 3.
KERYGMA: which is the evangelization dimension - to be the
witness of love and service of Jesus Christ. Proclamation the
Good News is the duty of all. |
| 3.1 |
Let
the elderly proclaim the Good News according to his or her own
capacity especially through being a life witness as the elderly
is the "library of life". |
| 3.2 |
Let the elderly be able to make the celebration of life for
themselves. |
| 3.3 |
Let the elderly be always aware that they are "the age
of gifts of God". |
| 3.4
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And
do not forget about the dialogue of the elderly with people
of different faith. |
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| 4.
DIAKONIA: The service dimension. |
| 4.1
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Allow
the elderly to serve society according to their capability and
gifts. |
| 4.2 |
Learn
the examples of St. Ann and St. Joachim, Patrons of the elderly. |
| 4.3 |
Allow the elderly to help one another among themselves. |
| 4.4
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Make
room for the elderly to teach young people in the realm of service
and self dedication. |
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Pastoral
Direction |
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| Pastoral
work for the elderly, the sick and the disabled. |
| Promotion
and revival of the spirit of the 4th Commandment |
| Due
to the fact that the elderly are lonesome without friends,
surrounding society and children to not realize the importance
of their dignity and value, it is but appropriate that
people concerned take care of them both physically and
spiritually by: |
| 1.
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Promoting
the elderly to join the elderly group for activities which
will be beneficial to themselves physically and spiritually.
This will also make them realize their lives' worth and
dignity. |
| 2. |
Arrange
to let them have access to health care. |
| 3. |
Arrange to let them have the spiritual retreat, revive
their piety , praying and to be good examples in love
and mercy in their teaching to the children. |
| 4. |
Prepare
them to face the last portion of their life with faith
and hope. |
| 5. |
Encourage children to demonstrate their gratitude and
provide service to the elderly both physically and spiritually
by making recourse to the related institutions. |
| 6.Make
campaign on the "Grateful Children" program
to be the example and to promote participation in activities
of the elderly. |
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