“Ministry in the care for the elderly” will be the theme of the 22nd International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care, which will be held in Rome November 15-17.

The president of the dicastery, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, will open the event with a conference entitled, “The pastoral care of the elderly infirm in light of the Word of God.”  Afterwards, there will be a historical analysis of the care of the elderly and of the main illnesses that affect them.

Other themes to be discussed include the advances in health care for the elderly, economic and legislative issues related to the elderly, the influence of climate change and pollution on the health of the elderly, and the care of the infirm in the history of the Church, in Scripture and in the fathers of the Church.