When Pope Leo XIV warned in both May and June about the growing loneliness and abandonment experienced by the elderly, he highlighted a challenge confronting much of the modern world. In Lithuania, the Catholic Church has already been responding to this problem.
One year ago, Caritas Lithuania launched "Caritas Listens," a free emotional support hotline aimed at combating loneliness among older adults. Staffed by trained volunteers, the helpline offers a compassionate listening ear, a need many callers say they lack.
While the initiative was started in Lithuania, its significance reaches far beyond the Baltic nation. Across Eastern Europe, declining birth rates, rising life expectancy, and decades of emigration by younger generations to Western Europe have left many elderly people living alone.
Similar demographic pressures are also reshaping societies in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and China, raising concerns not only about healthcare and pensions but also about social isolation and mental well-being.
For the Catholic Church, Caritas Lithuania's experience offers a practical example of how pastoral care can respond to an increasingly urgent social and spiritual crisis.
A year of great impact
After its first year, Caritas Lithuania says the hotline has recorded 67,308 minutes of conversations, which the organization sees as evidence of both the scale of loneliness among older people and the need for emotional support.
The initiative currently relies on 86 trained volunteers who provide confidential emotional support by phone. Their focus is on listening without judgment; accompanying callers in moments of loneliness, grief, or anxiety; and helping them rediscover a sense of connection.
For Erika Panova-Polikeviciene, the project's coordinator, the need was already clear before the hotline began.
According to Lithuanian statistics, she said, 1 in 5 people aged 60 and over experiences loneliness, while adults over 60 make up almost one-third of the country's population.
"For more than 37 years, Caritas Lithuania has been providing support to people in vulnerable situations, including older persons," she told EWTN News. Yet despite those efforts, the organization realized that many elderly people remained beyond the reach of traditional services.
Some struggled with poor health or limited mobility. Others faced social isolation or lacked the confidence to seek help. For many, attending community activities or receiving in-person support was simply not possible.
"We saw a need to create an alternative way for them to receive emotional support and human connection," Panova-Polikeviciene said.
With support from Lithuania's Ministry of Social Security and Labor, Caritas expanded its network of assistance and launched the emotional support line in 2025.
Listening as a form of pastoral care
Callers frequently speak about grief after losing loved ones, strained family relationships, conflicts with neighbors, declining health, financial worries, and uncertainty about where to seek help.
Some, Panova-Polikeviciene said, simply need someone who will listen. "Sometimes the first step toward overcoming isolation is simply having someone on the other end of the phone who is ready to listen."
The conversations have also challenged common assumptions about loneliness. "One of the key lessons we have learned is that loneliness is not always about being physically alone," Panova-Polikeviciene explained.
Some callers live with family members or have relatives nearby yet still experience profound loneliness because they lack emotional connection or a sense of being understood. "A simple conversation can sometimes restore a feeling of connection and remind a person that they are not forgotten," she said.
The hotline has also become a refuge for people facing moments of deep despair. Volunteers regularly receive calls from older adults coping with bereavement, hopelessness, or periods when they feel they have nobody else to turn to. In those moments, the immediate goal is not necessarily solving every problem.
"The most important first step is often not providing an immediate solution but being present, listening with compassion, and helping a person feel that their life and experiences matter."
The volunteers behind the ministry
At the center of the initiative are the volunteers themselves. Panova-Polikeviciene described them as people who freely choose to accompany others through some of life's most difficult moments.
"They want to be there for others, to listen with compassion, to offer their time and presence, and to accompany older people who may be experiencing loneliness or difficult moments in their lives," she said.
Before answering calls, every volunteer undergoes a process of discernment with both a volunteer coordinator and a psychologist.
Caritas Lithuania believes that a desire to help is not enough on its own. Volunteers must also honestly evaluate whether they are emotionally prepared to accompany people through grief, isolation, and profound loneliness.
Those accepted into the program receive training in active listening, empathetic communication, and responding responsibly to emotionally difficult situations. They provide support in Lithuanian and continue to receive ongoing supervision and psychological support throughout their service.
Additionally, supervision sessions and consultations with psychologists help them avoid burnout and remain emotionally supported while accompanying vulnerable callers.
A model that could reach beyond Lithuania
"We believe that the experience of 'Caritas Listens' could be relevant for other Caritas organizations, as loneliness among older people is a growing challenge across Europe," Panova-Polikeviciene said.
She stressed that every country would need to adapt a similar initiative to its own social realities and support systems. Nevertheless, she said Caritas Lithuania is ready to share what it has learned.
"We believe that exchanging good practices within the Caritas network can help us better respond to the growing challenge of loneliness among older people."
As many nations grapple with aging populations, Caritas Lithuania's experience suggests that responding to loneliness may not always require complex solutions.
Sometimes, the ministry begins with something far simpler: a listening ear and the reassurance that no one is forgotten.
