Persons with Disabilities

We read in the bible of Jesus’ interactions with persons with disabilities. While many in the society considered them sinful or unworthy of being members of the community, Jesus saw each with love and compassion, reaching out as he did to all people. He taught us how to respond. “The Church’s solicitude for persons with disabilities springs from God’s way of acting. Following the principles of the incarnation of the Son of God, who makes himself present in every human situation, the Church recognizes in persons with disabilities the call to faith and to a life that is good and full of meaning. This calls for twofold attention: an awareness of the possibility to educate in the faith the people with even grave or very grave disabilities; and a willingness to consider them as active subjects in the community in which they live.” (Directory for Catechesis, Vatican, 2020, n. 269-272)

In Spring 2023 the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation launched a grant-funded Inclusion initiative. The goal of the initiative is to create a unifying, comprehensive framework to help parishes in the Diocese of Portland grow in awareness and inclusion of persons with disabilities. Together, we seek to answer a central question: How do we enlarge the area for our ‘church tent’ to enable the entire Body of Christ to enter, belong, and contribute?

Diocesan Lifelong Faith Formation Framework in Practice: Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities 

Resource Examples

 Adapted Faith Formation | NCPD - National Catholic Partnership on Disability