Dying Alone

 

In the recent Catholic Times the editorial and featured article was on dying alone. In Asia dying a natural death in old age (or timely death) was considered one of the five blessings. Dying alone would be the very opposite of what a person would desire. 

 

It is a dictionary definition of 'death of loneliness' when a person living alone gets sick and dies without his family or neighbors knowing.  What is clear is that it is a lonely death. The so-called 'death without mourning', in which no one is with you in the process of dying, and no one remembers the deceased even after death.

 

Looking at the statistical indicators, the number of people who died alone increased more than threefold (308%) in 10 years from 1025 in 2012 to 3,052 in 2020 and 3159 last year. As there are 6.16 million single-person households (2020), accounting for 30% of the total households, it is estimated that there will be not a few deaths of loneliness that are mentioned in the statistics. 

 

By age, the number of deaths aged 70 or older is the highest at 1,226. It was followed by 619 people in their 50s, 909 people in their 60s (489 people under 65 years old, 420 people under 65 to 69 years old), 245 people in their 40s, and 66 people under 40s. By gender, 76% men  21% women.

What is notable in statistics is that those in their 50s and 60s account for the largest portion of the age group of deaths. This can be attributed to the economic isolation that middle-aged men suffer from unemployment and family breakdown due to early retirement.

It is also worth paying attention to the increase in the number of deaths without family or friends under the age of 50. The number of deaths without association in the age group doubled from 165 in 2012 to 311 last year. In particular, it should be noted that last year's statistics came from a situation where it is more difficult to find lonely deaths due to the influence of COVID-19.

 

The Lone Death Prevention Act came into effect in April 2020, and although it is mandatory to conduct a fact-finding survey, it is not being implemented properly. In a situation where there is no dedicated department for lonely deaths and the budget increase has not been done properly, it is impossible to expect the government to have a practical countermeasure. 

 

The death of loneliness is still a blind spot in our society. So the church has to step in. Pope Francis declared on January 2021, the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July, coinciding with the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary's parents and Jesus' grandparents, Sts. Joachim and Anne. The anniversary was established as a day close to the day to commemorate Saints Joachim and Anna, the grandparents of Jesus, expressing the will of the  church to be with the elderly.

 

Some parishes and parishes provide pastoral support for the elderly living alone, but that is not enough. Now, the church must come up with multi-directional pastoral measures for the death of loneliness, including the death of young people. It is hoped that the 'elimination of loneliness' will become a significant part of the church’s journey with the marginalized.