Religious
Life Communities must welcome the disabled
By JANICE McGRANE
The 1990s have been a decade of
unparalleled liberation for persons with disabilities, a group of people so
marginalized they were rarely even perceived as such. Despite the continual
example of holistic healing set by Jesus in the gospels, persons with
disabilities have historically been viewed only as bodies needing care, not as
unique individuals whose gifts and potentials were in dire need of
liberation.
Since President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities
Act in 1990, the situation of disabled people in U.S. society has changed
dramatically. The act extends greater participation in mainstream American
life, with provisions ensuring the civil rights of disabled persons in the
areas of employment, public accommodations, communications and transportation.
The ensuing installation of curb cuts and ramps, as well as reasonable
accommodations in the workplace, has done much to ensure the inclusion of
disabled persons in society.
Predating the act by 12 years, the U.S. bishops pastoral on
persons with disabilities served both as inspiration and model for the
disabilities act. The bishops clearly called all Catholics to imitate the Jesus
who was so keenly aware of the plight of the many individuals with disabilities
who crossed his path in Judea and Samaria. The pastoral challenged the church
to include persons with disabilities in all phases of its life:
Realizing the unique gifts disabled individuals 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. The
pastoral called for the establishment of disability ministry on the national,
diocesan and parish levels.
Due to these efforts, persons with disabilities have been
experiencing more and more open doors in both the church and society. However,
religious communities are an area of church life that has been somewhat
ambivalent about welcoming disabled persons. An article by Carol Garibaldi
Rogers in the Sept. 26, 1998, issue of America gives the impression that
persons with disabilities are not accepted in active apostolic communities
because they cannot engage in ministry that earns a stipend. Its
not a mercenary issue, its a ministry issue, one sister is quoted
as saying,
if a woman was not able to minister, she would be
steered elsewhere.
In fact, the admittance of qualified individuals with disabilities
into religious communities is a complex question requiring much discussion and
discernment on the part of both the aspirant and the community. The ability of
the disabled person to engage in stipended ministry is certainly a legitimate
concern. It is to be hoped, however, that this will not be the sole basis a
community uses for admitting otherwise qualified candidates. By refusing to
accept persons with disabilities, religious communities are depriving the
church of effective ministers who not only reflect the passion of Jesus but
people whose disability itself provides a precise point of connection with
marginalized persons.
Many religious with disabilities and chronic illnesses are already
working in a variety of ministries. They serve as spiritual directors,
counselors, teachers, administrators. Some entered with their disability;
others incurred it later. Some utilize government services such as Vocational
Rehabilitation, which provides equipment such as scooters, hand controls and
computers so that persons with disabilities can actualize their potential to
become employed.
Every state has an Office of Vocational Rehabilitation; religious
generally are eligible for these services. Also, with the rapid increases in
computer technology, many more ministries are opening to religious with
disabilities. The following brief sketches are just a few examples of religious
with disabilities who not only serve the church but have also provided income
for their communities.
Mercy Sr. Mary Maher of Plainfield, N.J., experienced a stroke in
1966 at the age of 45. After a time of rehabilitation, her doctor recommended
she return to teaching piano. Maher, now more attuned to the effects of
suffering, started parish social ministry in the 1980s in order to provide for
the needs of poor persons in Sacred Heart Parish in South Plainfield. Although
Sr. Mary was no longer able to drive, parishioners in the social ministry
program provided transportation to homebound parishioners. Realizing the need
for socialization to alleviate the isolation so many unwell parishioners
experienced, Maher started Care and Share, a monthly gathering for
homebound persons that continues to the present.
Then theres Fr. Bill Atkinson. On a cold winter day in 1965,
the then 19-year-old Augustinian novice became a quadriplegic when he broke his
neck in a tobogganing accident. After extensive rehabilitation, he chose to
continue as an Augustinian seminarian. He was ordained in 1974. Im
sure there were people in my community with reservations, but more were
thankful I could do it, said Atkinson.
Atkinson returned to his former high school, Monsignor Bonner in
Drexel Hill, Pa., as an instructor in theology, the ministry he
continues to perform today. Being a quad has given me a
different perspective on life, he said. I appreciate more
whats really long-lasting -- my relationship with God and other
people.
Disability has a way of calling forth ingenuity and trying new
wine in new wineskins. The Immaculate Heart Sisters of West Chester, Pa.,
realizing that a nursing home environment is not the most appropriate for every
sister and that their sisters with disabilities still have gifts to offer in
service to the church, have started an assisted living residence.
Sr. Regina Helene said, We asked ourselves, Would it
be valuable to have sisters with varying levels of disability live together to
help one another and to minister as they are able? Five IHM sisters
now reside in St. Theresa Parish in Hellertown, Pa. Three of them have
disabilities: Sr. Suzanne McRae, who teaches advanced math, Sr. Judith Parvese,
who conducts the parish music ministry, and Sr. Miriam Irene Keenan, who works
with adult and childrens religious education.
Its working out well, Keenan, whose left side
remains paralyzed by a stroke, said of her living situation, Im
energized by living here. The sisters are able to participate in
community life while still making valuable contributions to the people they
serve.
Another innovative program that is integrating disability into
religious life focuses on deafness and is administered by Fr. Tom Coughlin in
the New York archdiocese. I was a Dominican for a while, said
Coughlin, But I couldnt develop meaningful relationships with other
hearing members who were disinclined to learn sign language.
Coughlin, still desiring to live a vowed life in religious
community, was asked by Cardinal John OConnor to develop a seminary
program for deaf men. Presently, four deaf seminarians reside with Coughlin in
a separate house of formation near St Josephs Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y.
If we live by ourselves in our own cultural and linguistic
milieu, our chance of success in the priesthood will be much better, said
Coughlin. He has had requests to train deaf seminarians from other countries
and also conducts vocation retreats for deaf men and women.
Finally, I share my own story. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
at age 25, I felt called to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pa.,
and entered in 1983. Since then, I have worked for two dioceses in disability
ministry, conducted disability retreats, written about the spirituality of
disability and coordinated a computer instruction program for my
communitys retired sisters.
As my own level of disability increased, I have utilized programs
like attendant care and paratransit; the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
has provided me with the computer and voice-activation capability with which
this article was written. Living with a disability has taught me a great deal
-- that what is truly important in life is not what we do but rather who we
are. It has given me a sense of true interdependence and taught me that no
matter our life circumstance, it is our relationship with God that is the
bedrock of life.
Today, as we stand on the threshold of a new millennium, those
religious communities willing to accept qualified candidates with disabilities
will send a strong message that the vowed lifestyle is truly inclusive.
Powerful witness such as this will also proclaim the countercultural message
that financial concerns alone do not dictate church ministry.
And, as the stories of Sr. Mary Maher, Fr. Bill Atkinson, and
countless other religious with disabilities demonstrate, religious communities
will also be getting effective ministers into the bargain. n
Sr. Janice McGrane is the disability awareness coordinator for
the Philadelphia archdiocese.
National Catholic Reporter, February 18,
2000
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