CENTER SECTION: CATHOLICS WITH DISABILITIES
The Power of Faith and Community

by Janice L. Benton  |  Summer 2009

November 16, 2008 marked the 30th anniversary of the Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities (the pastoral). Many parishioners say that their lives have been profoundly changed because of the pastoral. Others have either not heard of it or else put little store in church statements, claiming that “action, not hollow words” is what is needed. Clearly, these seemingly contradictory perspectives point to the need for more work to be done so that individuals with disabilities, families, and parishes will be transformed by the message of the pastoral.

In the pastoral, the bishops affirmed the dignity of every human life, quoting from Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth: “In an ordered and productive community, it is a fundamental principle that every human being is a ‘person’…[with] rights and duties…flowing directly and spontaneously from [that] very nature. These rights are therefore universal, inviolable and inalienable.”

In the very first paragraph, the bishops lay out the blueprint for action that is as relevant today as it was thirty years ago:

The same Jesus who heard the cry for recognition from the people with disabilities of Judea and Samaria 2,000 years ago calls us, His followers, to embrace our responsibility to our own disabled brothers and sisters in the United States. The Catholic Church pursues its mission by furthering the spiritual, intellectual, moral and physical development of the people it serves. …We call upon people of good will to reexamine their attitudes toward their brothers and sisters with disabilities and promote their well-being, acting with the sense of justice and the compassion that the Lord so clearly desires. Further, realizing the unique gifts individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church, we wish to address the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life (par. 1).

The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) was established in 1982 to bring to life in parishes and dioceses throughout the United States the challenges the bishops enunciated in the pastoral. NCPD supports the efforts of Catholics with disabilities, family members, parish staff, and diocesan personnel striving to ensure that everyone finds a seat at the liturgical table. While great strides have been made, much remains to be accomplished so that men, women, and children with disabilities are truly nourished in their faith and able to contribute their own gifts and presence to the full life of their parish communities.

First Steps: Building Community

A common explanation heard from pastors when asked about lack of access in a parish is, “We don’t have any people with disabilities in this parish.” While this is highly unlikely, it raises the question, “Why are they not there?” The prevalence of disability in the United States is 20%—one person in five—according to the most recent census. The definition of disability offered by NCPD notes that disabilities are a normal part of living: “Disabilities are the normal, anticipated outcomes of the risks, stresses, and strains of the living process.” In other words, disabilities are not extraordinary or to be feared. They are a part of life that should be expected and for which accommodations must be made as part of the routine order of business. Abundant resources are available from NCPD (www.ncpd.org) and other sources to provide guidance on creating accessible environments. In many ways, creating access is the easy challenge. A more difficult, but infinitely more important, first step is examining attitudes and creating a spirit within a parish that recognizes that the community is incomplete if people are missing.

When asked about the biggest barrier faced when it comes to participating in their parish, individuals with disabilities and the parents of children with assorted disabilities routinely respond that the attitude of the pastor, parish staff, or school principal is often the primary stumbling block.

Carmen Greico, an active parishioner in the Rockville Centre Diocese who lost her vision in infancy, notes that “the biggest barrier I have are the people who don’t allow you to try, people who are so closed-minded and don’t realize that everyone has something to give; it may not be the thing that you think they should give or [the thing] you might need, but every one of us, God gave us all talents to work with.” She went on to explain, “There’s always the fear of rejection. With anyone with any kind of a disability, the first thing others see is the disability, if it’s a visible disability like blindness or using a wheelchair. That’s the first thing they recognize, and they don’t always take the time to recognize the person behind the disability.”

The bishops offer helpful guidance in responding to these concerns: “What individuals with disabilities need, first of all, is acceptance in this difference that can neither be denied nor overlooked. No acts of charity or justice can be of lasting value unless our actions are informed by a sincere and understanding love that penetrates the wall of strangeness and affirms the common humanity underlying all distinction” (pastoral, par. 2).

Responding Pastorally

The bishops noted clearly that the parish holds the key to active participation for Catholics with disabilities and their families. “For most Catholics the community of believers is embodied in the local parish. The parish is the door to participation for individuals with disabilities, and it is the responsibility of the pastor and lay leaders to make sure that this door is always open…the task, on occasion, may not be an easy one; involving some people in parish life may challenge the ingenuity and commitment of the entire congregation. Yet, in order to be loyal to its calling, to be truly pastoral, the parish must make sure that it does not exclude any Catholic who wishes to take part in its activities” (pastoral, par. 18).

The bishops acknowledged that there are challenges to be faced. In recent years, parish situations have come under public scrutiny when an individual or family brought their concerns to the media, or a parish has resorted to obtaining a restraining order against an individual. When these problems arise, often due to lack of communication or unrecognized or unrealized expectations, everyone suffers. While it is fortunate that such cases are rare, any instance is one too many.

Proactive steps can, in most instances, prevent an escalation of misunderstanding, pain, and desperate or rash actions for all parties involved. As the needs of an individual are assessed (and re-assessed over time), consideration is also made for the common good and the needs of the total community. Any resulting differences among perceived needs should be discussed and resolved within a framework that recognizes the dignity and value to the community of each individual. The question is never whether a person belongs. That is a given. Rather, the focus is on what can be done to facilitate a person’s meaningful participation at this time.

It is commonly recognized by people with disabilities, their families, and pastoral workers involved in disability ministry that when participation in a parish succeeds, it is due to the welcoming spirit of the parish. But how can or does this come about?

Father Jim Bradley, who directs the ministry for people with disabilities for the Diocese of Brooklyn, is a wheelchair user after experiencing a stroke, and is the legal guardian for his sister who lives with intellectual disability. Father Bradley notes that “for pastors and parish personnel, undertaking the important task of including people with disabilities in the life of the parish begins with an attitude in the heart.”

Msgr. Richard Arnhols, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Bergenfield, N.J., and Vicar for Pastoral Life of the Archdiocese of Newark, offers these helpful insights: “In the early years of my time in the church I think people with disabilities were seen more as the exception rather than the rule. Now we’ve come to recognize that everyone has a place at the Lord’s table and each of us has a responsibility to try to make everyone feel welcome. I think a pastor needs to understand that everybody belongs and that there really are ways and means that you can enable anyone to participate to some degree.

Father Bob Malloy, OFM Cap., pastoral director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit, Mich., offers this helpful guidance: “Beyond anything else, our pastoral workers can have that compassionate listening and presence to people, even if you don’t know what to do for them. One of the things that I do as a chaplain at the soup kitchen is simply to listen to the folks, to be there with them. I think it is so important to the individual to know they are being listened to, and they know and are aware that you are really with them.”

Claudia Alverez, a young woman who was born with cerebral palsy and has lived with clinical depression for the past eleven years, offers this suggestion to parishes: “Don’t leave anyone out, whether they have a mental illness or physical disabilities, don’t focus on that, focus on what they can do and not just on what they can’t do. And let them decide, let the individual decide what they can do and not do, don’t pass judgment, don’t make decisions for them.”

Appreciating the Power of Faith

Creating communities where all are nourished in their faith, sustained by the sacraments, and provided the opportunity to serve their parish according to their gifts and talents is the challenge that the gospel and the pastoral require of each of us. Consideration of the following reflections by Catholics with disabilities on the meaning that faith plays in their lives may guide our efforts to meet this challenge.

Janice L. Benton, SFO, is the executive director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, wife and mother, and a professed Secular Franciscan.