Lesson Learned

Friday, Jun. 17, 2016

Sometimes God isn’t subtle about pointing out where I lack understanding. For example, on Friday I had a discussion about the entertainment world’s controversy over the depiction of disabled people because of the movie “Me Before You.” Then I read that Pope Francis was going to celebrate a Mass to mark the Jubilee of the sick and disabled, which fit into news that the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Commission for People with Disabilities is preparing to host a Deaf priest who will offer workshops and Mass in American Sign Language. Finally, Friday evening the Utah Knights of Columbus presented $10,000 at the 2016 Special Olympics Summer Games.

All of these bring attention to the catholic aspect of the Church; that is, we are universal, and welcoming to all.

Sadly, not everyone understands it this way. In Rome, opening the Year of Mercy jubilee celebration for the sick and persons with disabilities, Redemptorist Father Cyril Axelrod was told of a parish priest who refused to allow a deaf girl into a First Communion class, saying “she wouldn’t understand it anyway,” according to a Catholic News Service report. 

“Catechesis must be available for people of all ages and all abilities,” Fr. Axelrod insisted, although he acknowledged that it’s not easy, and that each child who has a disability may need tailor-made faith formation. But any person filled with faith will learn to rely on the Holy Spirit’s gifts to communicate joy, love and a belief that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, he said, according to the CNS report.

Fr. Axelrod knows this well. He was born deaf and became blind 16 years ago, but those who understood the Church’s call nurtured his gifts and now he is a priest with a worldwide ministry to the Deaf. 

Pope Francis, in his own inimitable way, put the universal nature of the Church on display by having people with disabilities fill various ministries during the jubilee Mass. 

The day before, the Holy Father said if a priest tried to defend himself by saying the developmentally disabled can’t receive Communion because they wouldn’t understand what they are doing, his response would be, “You are the one who does not understand!” CNS reported.

Sadly, there are a few here in our own diocese who don’t understand why we should go to the bother of doing something like bringing in a Deaf priest. 

Rather than devise my own inexpert answer to that question, I turned to Carol Ruddell, a National Catholic Partnership on Disability board member and past president of the diocesan Commission for People with Disabilities. Here’s her response: “We should because it offers the Deaf an opportunity that hearing people have all the time. When we have retreats or workshops or days of reflection, we offer them in English and in Spanish, so this is an opportunity to offer it in American Sign Language as well.”  

After talking with Carol, I headed out to the Special Olympics. I tried to squeeze through the crowd to get a head-on shot of the Knights’ flag presentation, but was blocked by a young man bracing himself upright with his hands on the fence. I had to go behind him, between him and his wheelchair, to get where I wanted to be.

The picture I have from that moment isn’t the one in my camera but the one in my head, of able-bodied me focused on doing my job and the physically disabled young man intent on honoring our country. 

If anyone else saw that picture, I know which one of us I would want them to emulate.