In 2017, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops revised their landmark document Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Those with Disabilities which affirms the dignity and access to worship and sacraments to those with disabilities. Here at the Cranberry Catholic Collaborative we strive to not only serve those with disabilities and their families but also welcome them into our church home and invite them into active ministry. Those with disabilities, by virtue of their baptism, are invited to serve and proclaim the Gospel just as we are all caled to do in our faith.
We invite all those with disabilities, or their families, to come forward and let us know if their is anything we can help with on your faith journey.
Excerpt from the document:
1. All human beings are equal in dignity in the sight of God. Moreover, by reason of their Baptism, all Catholics also share the same divine calling.
2. Catholics with disabilities have a right to participate in the sacraments as fully as other members of the local ecclesial community.3 “Sacred ministers cannot deny the sacraments to those who seek them at appropriate times, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them.”4
3. Parish sacramental celebrations should be accessible to persons with disabilities and open to their full, active, and conscious participation, according to their capacity. Pastoral ministers should not presume to know the needs of persons with disabilities, but should rather—before all else—consult with them or their advocates before making determinations about the accessibility of a parish’s facilities and the availability of its programs, policies, and ministries. Full accessibility should be the goal for every parish, and these adaptations are to be an ordinary part of the liturgical life of the parish.5
4. Since the parish is the center of the Christian experience for most Catholics, pastors and other parish ministers should make every effort to provide for all Catholics with disabilities who reside within a parish’s boundaries. Special effort should be made to reach out to and welcome all parishioners, including persons with disabilities who live independently, with their families, in institutions, or in other living arrangements. Pastoral visitation, the parish census, and the diverse forms of parish and diocesan social communication are just a few of the many ways in which the pastoral staff can work toward the inclusion of all parishioners in the parish’s sacramental life.
5. Pastors are responsible to provide evangelization, catechetical formation, and sacramental preparation for parishioners with disabilities,6 and dioceses are encouraged to establish appropriate support services to assist pastors in this duty. Persons with disabilities, their advocates and their families, as well as those knowledgeable in serving those with disabilities can make a most valuable contribution to these efforts. Parish catechetical and sacramental preparation programs may need to be adapted for some parishioners with disabilities, though, as much as possible, persons with disabilities should be integrated into the ordinary programs. They should not be segregated for specialized catechesis unless their disabilities make it impossible for them to participate in the basic catechetical program.7 Even in those cases, participation in parish life is encouraged in all ways possible.