Pope Francis established a day for grandparents and the elderly in 2021 to be celebrated on the fourth Sunday of July to highlight the plight of loneliness, neglect and insecurity many of them experience, which he addressed during the Angelus this year.
“The abandonment the elderly face is, in fact, a sad reality, which we must not become used to. For many of them, especially in these summer days, loneliness is likely to become a difficult weight to bear,” the pope said.
The pope also spoke about the sale of weapons, appealing to the international community once again.
“This is a scandal that the international community should not tolerate, and it contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games, which have just begun,” he explained.
Pope Francis also prayed for the victims of a landslide that swept through a village in southern Ethiopia. The UN said that some 125 people had to flee their homes and the death toll is estimated to be 500.