The Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life will release on Dec. 6 four videos highlighting the different synodal contributions of faithful with disabilities.
The Vatican News reported Vatican representatives met with dozens of Catholic faithful with disabilities and asked them about their contributions to their respective churches. The participants came from five continents, the news outlet bared.
'Special Listening Sessions'
The Vatican representatives reportedly asked the participants to answer the Synod on Synodality questions, "What is the Spirit asking of the Church? What paths are opening up for the Church and for the faithful with disabilities?"
The report disclosed that the participants, some 30 Catholic faithful having different disabilities, answered the questions in a series of "special listening sessions," which ran from Sept. 20 to 22, 2022.
The Vatican representatives collated the answers and completed the draft text they sent to Pope Francis and the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality.
The article revealed that the listening sessions were meant to get the voice of the faithful with disabilities and guarantee their voice would be heard.
The activity was also a fulfillment of what Pope Francis challenged in the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which said, "Let me repeat: we need to have ''the courage to give a voice to those who are discriminated against due to their disability, because sadly, in some countries even today, people find it hard to acknowledge them as persons of equal dignity."
Voices of Faithful With Disabilities
The Vatican News said the dicastery produced four videos out of the responses the Vatican representatives got from the special listening session participants.
It said the videos stress the insights and anecdotes of participants as they contribute to the reflection of the synodal theme, "#TheChurchIsOurHome."
"The synodal conversion of the Church also passes through the conversion of the Roman Curia in a synodal key. The experience shared with the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life is a joyful example of this and opens up new horizons and possibilities for collaboration to show that the Church truly is a home for all!" the Vatican quoted Synod'sSynod's Secretary General, Cardinal Mario Grech, saying.
Meanwhile, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, explained:
"In order to be truly synodal, the Church must listen to everyone'severyone's voice, no one excluded. I would like to thank the General Secretariat of the Synod which, from the beginning, has supported our initiative: it is thanks to this collaboration that the contribution of the faithful with disabilities will be able to reach the synod fathers."
The report added that the Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod had identified some problems concerning faithful with disabilities, including "lack of appropriate structures and ways of accompanying persons with disabilities, and call for new ways of welcoming their contribution and promoting their participation."
The news outlet said the first of the four videos, titled "Co-responsibility," would be released on Dec. 6, while the last, titled "A wonderful process," is due for showing on Jan. 26, 2022.
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