This, according to Pope Francis, causes “people no longer feel like a primordial value that must be respected and protected, especially if they are poor or disabled, ‘not yet necessary’—like the unborn—or ‘no longer necessary’—like the elderly—,” he lamented.
Pope Francis underlined the importance of these “two extremes” of life: “The unborn with disabilities are aborted, and the elderly in their last stages are given the ‘sweet death’, euthanasia, a disguised euthanasia, always, but euthanasia at the end of the day,” he warned.
He also expressed that “by listening to the voice of men and women with disabilities, we have become more aware that their lives are conditioned not only by functional limitations, but also by cultural, legal, economic and social factors that can hinder their activities and their social participation”.