Don’t deny disabled people the sacraments, says Vatican

The Church’s sacraments are a gift and cannot be denied to disabled people, according to new Church guidelines for catechesis.

Irish theologian Liam Waldron, who has long campaigned on this topic, was “delighted” by the announcement.

“I welcome this greatly,” he said. “It has been a long time coming and a lot of us have been working very hard over the years, including people with disabilities themselves.

“It shows that people with disabilities are not just an afterthought, they’re not just the concern of a particular group. These guidelines show that the people with disabilities are core/central to the life of the Church, they are seen as our brothers and sisters and are heralds of the Gospel.”

Evangelisers

“The Pope and council are showing they are concerned with people with disabilities as evangelisers themselves.”

The guidelines from the Vatican state that “[t]he sacraments are gifts of God and the liturgy, which even before being understood rationally, ask to be lived: therefore, no one can deny the sacraments to people with disabilities.”

Calling people with disabilities an “opportunity for growth” for the Church, the Vatican said that their presence can help Catholics to “overcome cultural prejudices.”

“People with intellectual disabilities live the relationship with God in the immediacy of their situation and it is necessary and dignified to accompany them in the life of Faith,” they said.