Old age

Hans Küng is contemplating suicide. He's 85. Going blind. Suffers from Parkinson's disease. 

He's been criticized, not only for the prospect of ending his own life, but for how others might follow his lead. 

I'd like to make a few observations: He's a Roman Catholic priest. A childless bachelor. To my knowledge, he never fathered children by a secret mistress. And even if he did, he clearly didn't raise them. 

So he doesn't have a loving wife or loving grown children to cushion the prospect. It's a terrifying prospect. Losing control. Going blind. Becoming incapacitated. Maybe losing his mind. I believe Parkinson's sometimes results in senile dementia. 

It's all the more terrifying when you face that alone. Oh, he has friends. But that's not the same thing. 

In addition, he was never a good priest. By that I mean, he was never the kind of selfless priest who ministers in obscurity to his parishioners. 

Instead, he was a theological showboater. Tried to be an influential player in Catholic theology. A trend-setter. A man on the world stage. 

But eventually, you become a has-been. If you live for your work, you will be inconsolable in old age when time passes you by.

In some ways his situation is unusual, but in other ways not. When I go for walks, I see lots of elderly widows with little dogs. I sometimes see an elderly widower with a little dog. It's both pitiful and understandable. 

But I also see lots of young couples walking dogs rather than kids. We're developing a subculture in which many young people have adopted an antinatalist philosophy. They look down on parents as "breeders." Their pets are their children. 

They will be very lonely in old age. 

In addition, we have smaller families than in the past. Even couples who do have children usually have just one or two. 

But in old age, that may not be enough. They may live out of state. They may be estranged. 

This is both an opportunity and a challenge for the church. And with the graying of the population, it will only increase.