Persons with disabilities seek a sense of belonging in their church, to be accepted as they are (Synod Report)
Feeling a true sense of belonging in their parish is the top priority for 94% of the persons with
disabilities and their families who participated in the Archdiocese’s listening sessions focused on
the experiences of disability, life and the Church. This includes, among other things, feeling
valued and supported, accepted as they are, and welcomed to participate in parish life.
The report, written by the Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities Archdiocese of Newark, highlighted the experiences, interests, and desires of persons with disabilities and their families of the Church.
Last year, Pope Francis invited Catholics — from bishops to laity — to gather and share their feelings, listen in prayer, and discern a way forward. For the first time, all Catholics were invited into this process of Synodality, which is historically reserved for just bishops. Additionally, Pope Francis encouraged the Church to seek input from other community organizations and faith communities.
Since January, the Archdiocese of Newark has joined Catholics across the world asking: “How is the Holy Spirit calling us as a Church in the 21st Century?”
The 39-page overall report for the Archdiocese released in September captures the voices of more than 15,000 northern New Jerseyans who gathered at over 700 sessions. Persons with disabilities were encouraged to participate in their parish listening sessions. However, Pope Francis has stressed the importance of highlighting voices from groups of people who are marginalized in the Church and/or society. Therefore, the Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities collaborated with two parishes, St. Therese of Lisieux in Cresskill and St. Bartholomew the Apostle in Scotch Plains, on additional listening sessions and provided other opportunities to share their experiences of disability, life, and the Church.
“I’m glad he encouraged this. They [the Archdiocese overall] had so much information to synthesize that I thought I wanted to make sure that the voices of individuals with disabilities and their families were heard too,” said Anne Masters, Director of the Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities.
The five-page report is based on two listening sessions, one in-person and one virtual, an online survey, and several conversations. Of the people who participated two-third were women, one-third were men. Most were parents and only 1% said they were estranged from the Church.
“However, it is important to realize that these are people who, for the most part, are still connected to the Church in some way. There are so many more persons with disabilities and their families who are no longer associated with the Church and did not respond to opportunities to participate in the synod process,” according to the report.
A sense of belonging was particularly strong for parents when their children were accepted and appreciated within the parish and were able to participate in the sacramental life of the Church, the report stated.
Being able to come to Mass as a family was reported as particularly important. Inclusive Family Masses held once a month at four parishes throughout the Archdiocese are appreciated. These Masses are geared for persons with disabilities and family members who have not felt welcome attending their general parish mass. The opportunity to attend Inclusive Family Masses makes them feel valued people said. At the same time, a desire for more opportunities to interact with the larger parish community was expressed.
Many still feel marginalized in the Church, according to the report, even where they have found experiences of acceptance.
“It is important for us to recognize the reality that individuals with disabilities care about faith, spirituality, and religion, as much as people without disabilities. However, they are not equally represented participating in faith communities,” Masters said.
The report states that most parents have changed their parish because their children weren’t accepted or treated well. One parent reported the family no longer attends mass nor belongs to any parish because of a particularly hurtful experience that impatiently dismissed their daughter bringing up the gifts.
Masters noted that the report reveals there are at least some people with disabilities with some connection to the Church. But it also shows “a whole bunch of others that aren’t even connected to the Church because of a number of issues,” she said. These issues reflect a lack of awareness of the impact of expectations within parish programs and liturgy on persons with disabilities that restricts their ability to participate meaningfully. Without an indication of openness to reconsider how things are done, the message received is that the Church doesn’t really care. There is also a sense of disinterest in persons with disabilities as persons of interest in themselves, Masters said.
Telling people they belong by “virtue of baptism” doesn’t ring true when attitudes and treatment do not communicate real interest. Other areas of parish life are also often unwelcoming, such as the parish catechetical program, fellowship activities, Bible study, and service opportunities, Masters said.
“Participation goes down much, much more quickly in those,” Masters said.
Parents also reported their children being denied access to the sacraments in different parishes before finally finding their current parish.
The ministry offers a survey for parish catechetical learners to use to guide a conversation with parents, and students if appropriate, regarding supports and adaptations to support learning. The questions help identify strategies that are helpful to support learning, for example, what someone is interested in, what they’re particularly good at/talents/gifts, what motivates them, identifying challenging situations, ways to redirect in such cases, also learning about faith life and ability to attend mass which is most relevant for individuals with autism as they often learn participation through intentional teaching, Masters said.
There is a tendency to view persons with disabilities as a homogenous category, Masters said. However, persons with disabilities are part of every demographic group of people: unborn babies, children, teens, young adults, adults, seniors, people of color, “Nones,” and immigrants, she said.
There are various kinds of disabilities and within those, differing experiences. “Disability can occur in utero, at birth, during developmental stages, aging, or through an accident. A tragic car accident when you are 18 or 55 is vastly different that results in paralysis or other loss of ability is very traumatic. Being born with Down Syndrome is not a tragedy. And yet, we tend to have this rather narrow definition in our mind about what the human person is, what the human person looks like, and is able to do,” Masters said.
Masters said that synod inputs revealed what she has been hearing over the past 17 years.
In June, people with disabilities’ connection to the Church was the subject of a conference in Rome entitled “‘Us NOT ‘Them’ – Disability in the Church” where Masters presented. It called for a change in thinking and attitudes about persons with disabilities in the Church, she said.
“It suggested that all of us together, regardless of ability or disability, are one Church. Many people with disabilities still struggle to feel that they belong in the Church or are appreciated as a unique person. Too often, they feel that others see them strictly based on their diagnosis, focusing on what they cannot do instead of what they can do,” Masters said.
Masters pointed to Fratelli Tutti (2020), where Pope Francis notes that persons with disabilities feel they are among the “hidden exiles” because they feel they exist without belonging and participating.
Respondents said they need the following from their Church:
- Parish leaders reach out intentionally to persons with disabilities, their families and adults living in group homes;
- Be interested in persons with disabilities in themselves, not as an object of service or pity;
- Have more Inclusive family Masses and include fellowship afterward and promote interactions with more members of the Church;
- Live the Faith Proclaimed. Persons with disabilities and their families need what the Church professes;
- Welcome persons with disabilities in all masses and activities;
- Be consistent across different parishes and;
- Be synodal – ask people what they think regularly.
“Catholic social teaching is based on the dignity of every person, and its object and purpose is to promote the flourishing of all human beings, not just Catholics,” Masters said. “And that’s probably at the heart of their pain, too. Because this is where they’re supposed to be welcomed and affirmed. I mean, we have a very life-affirming message when we talk about the importance and the dignity of every person. But what are we doing to support the diversity of human beings in all ways and shapes?”
For more information, contact Anne Masters, Ph.D., FAAIDD, Director of the Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities in the Archdiocese of Newark at Anne.Masters@rcan.org or 973-497-4309. A number of resources for pastoral leaders, persons with disabilities, and families are available on the Office website www.rcan.org/disabilities.
Featured Image: Ben Hack and Mary Beth Walsh are bringing up the gifts in mass at their parish, St. Joseph in Maplewood. Hack is a young man with autism. (Courtesy Ministry with Persons with Disabilities)
