28 – 29 April 2025
Celebration of Persons with Disabilities
To correspond with the Jubilee of Persons with Disabilities in Rome ~ The Jubilee of Persons with Disabilities will be held from Monday, April 28th, to Tuesday, April 29th
SPIRITUAL REFLECTION
In anticipation of the Jubilee of People with Disabilities, set within a yearlong celebration of hope, we remember the words of Pope Francis in his message to people with disabilities on the 2022 International Day of Persons with Disabilities: We come to realize that we exist as an us and not a them whenever disability, whether temporary or due to 1 natural aging, affects ourselves or someone for whom we care. Then we begin to look at reality with new eyes and we see the need to break down even those barriers that at first seemed insignificant. Nothing, however, can detract from our certainty that no disability – temporary, acquired or permanent – can change the fact that we are all children of the one Father and enjoy the same dignity. The Lord loves us all with the same tender, fatherly and unconditional love. Let us take these words from Pope Francis as an inspiration to look at reality with new eyes and see how the Lord is at work in our lives. We are all called to be active members of the Church community, and we all belong to the Body of Christ. It is in Christ that we find our hope and our joy for our lives. All persons with disabilities are a great gift to the Church and help to inspire hope and joy in the other members of our communities. Let us also work to recognize the beautiful gifts and talents of all the faithful in the Body of Christ, especially those persons with disabilities who bring their unique gifts and talents to the community. During this Jubilee of People with Disabilities, let us work to highlight persons with disabilities in our specific dioceses, schools, and parishes who bring hope and joy. When we lift up and recognize the most vulnerable members of our communities with joy and appreciation, we highlight their dignity and worth in a beautiful way for others to welcome them personally as well. We look to Christ as the source of our hope and invite Him to radiate within each of us a deeper love for one another and cultivate a place of belonging for all the faithful in our Churches. It is the hope we have in Christ that urges us to live charity towards one another.
Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity, 08.04.2024
During the Congresso of 15 March 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to commence “the drafting of a text highlighting the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology and illustrating the significance and beneficial implications of the concept in the social, political, and economic realms—while also taking into account the latest developments on the subject in academia and the ambivalent ways in which the concept is understood today.” An initial draft of the text was prepared with the help of some experts in 2019 but a Consulta Ristretta of the Congregation, convened on 8 October of the same year, found it to be unsatisfactory.
The Doctrinal Office then prepared another draft ex novo, based on the contribution of various experts, which was presented and discussed in a Consulta Ristretta held on 4 October 2021. In January 2022, the new draft was presented during the Plenary Session of the Congregation, during which the Members took steps to shorten and simplify the text.
Following this, on 6 February 2023, the amended version of the new draft was reviewed by a Consulta Ristretta, which proposed some additional modifications. An updated version was then submitted for the Members’ consideration during the Ordinary Session of the Dicastery (Feria IV) on 3 May 2023, where Members agreed that the document, with some adjustments, could be published. Subsequently, Pope Francis approved the deliberations of that session during the Audience granted to me on 13 November 2023. On this occasion, he also asked that the document highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war, and other themes. To honor the Holy Father’s directions, the Doctrinal Section of the Dicastery dedicated a Congresso to an in-depth study of the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which offers an original analysis and further consideration of the theme of human dignity “beyond all circumstances.”
On 2 February 2024, a new and significantly modified version of this text was sent to the Members of the Dicastery ahead of the Ordinary Session (Feria IV) on 28 February 2024. The letter accompanying the draft included the following clarification: “This additional drafting was necessary to meet a specific request of the Holy Father: namely, he explicitly urged that more attention be given to the grave violations of human dignity in our time, particularly in light of the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti. With this, the Doctrinal Office took steps to reduce the initial part […] and to develop in greater detail what the Holy Father indicated.” The text of the current Declaration was finally approved during the above-mentioned Feria IV of 28 February 2024. Then, in the Audience granted to me and to Monsignor Armando Matteo, Secretary of the Doctrinal Section, on 25 March 2024, the Holy Father approved this Declaration and ordered its publication.
The five-year course of the text’s preparation helps us to understand that the document before us reflects the gravity and centrality of the theme of dignity in Christian thought. The text required a considerable process of maturation to arrive at the final version that we have published today.
In its initial three sections, the Declaration recalls fundamental principles and theoretical premises, with the goal of offering important clarifications that can help avoid frequent confusion that surrounds the use of the term “dignity.” The fourth section presents some current and problematic situations in which the immense and inalienable dignity due to every human being is not sufficiently recognized. The Church sees the condemnation of these grave and current violations of human dignity as a necessary measure, for she sustains the deep conviction that we cannot separate faith from the defense of human dignity, evangelization from the promotion of a dignified life, and spirituality from a commitment to the dignity of every human being.
This dignity of every human being can be understood as “infinite” (dignitas infinita), as Pope St. John Paul II affirmed in a meeting for people living with various limitations or disabilities.[1] He said this to show how human dignity transcends all outward appearances and specific aspects of people’s lives.
In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis wanted to underscore that this dignity exists “beyond all circumstances.” With this, he summoned all people to defend human dignity in every cultural context and every moment of human existence, regardless of physical, psychological, social, or even moral deficiencies. The Declaration strives to show that this is a universal truth that we are all called to recognize as a fundamental condition for our societies to be truly just, peaceful, healthy, and authentically human.
Although not comprehensive, the topics discussed in this Declaration are selected to illuminate different facets of human dignity that might be obscured in many people’s consciousness. Some topics may resonate more with some sectors of society than others. Nevertheless, all of them strike us as being necessary because, taken together, they help us recognize the harmony and richness of the thought about human dignity that flows from the Gospel.
This Declaration does not set out to exhaust such a rich and crucial subject. Instead, its aim is to offer some points for reflection that can help us maintain an awareness of human dignity amid the complex historical moment in which we are living. This is so that we may not lose our way and open ourselves up to more wounds and profound sufferings amid the numerous concerns and anxieties of our time.
Víctor Manuel Card. Fernández Prefect
KEY SAINTS & BLESSEDS
Companions of Persons with Disabilities
St. Germain Cousin (1579-1601, feast day June 15) was born with a misshapen right hand and paralysis in her hand. She was treated poorly because of her disability and was not permitted to go to school. St. Germain grew in love for the Lord despite her difficult life of ill treatment and died at a very young age. Her body was found incorrupt, and miracles started to be attributed to her once her body was exhumed.
St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663, feast day September 18), patron saint for people with developmental disabilities, grew up poor and never seemed to fit in as a child. He became a priest with the Franciscan friars and lived a life of beautiful union with God and holiness, known for his levitations and ecstasies and miraculous curing of the sick. He was forced to live a solitary life because of the crowds who were drawn to him.
Bl. Alexius Kim Si-U (1782-1815, feast day September 20), one of the Korean blesseds martyred during the Eulhae Persecution, became Catholic at a young age and taught the other people in his village about the Catholic faith. He was born paralyzed and was unable to work, thus relying on the charity of others, and he volunteered himself when the police came and arrested the Catholics in his town. He died from starvation in prison but never gave up sharing the faith with everyone around him.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680, feast day July 14), patroness of the environment, was the first Native American to be recognized as a saint. She converted to Catholicism at age 19 and took a vow of chastity. St. Kateri was very devout and suffered from smallpox at the age of four which killed her family and left her with a badly scarred face and impaired vision.
PRAYERS
Prayer for People with Disabilities
Lord Our God,
you make every person in your divine image.
You know our needs and you fulfil our desires.
You protect us when we are fragile
and give us courage for each new day.
Help us to understand the power and wisdom
of human vulnerability.
Open our hearts to accept our weakness in your strength.
Give us the courage to break down the barriers
that separate us from one another.
Enable us to reach out lovingly to all your children,
so that, together, we may all participate fully
in parish life and worship.
Make us grateful for the talents and abilities
that all people can share with the Church.
Guide our actions to create truly welcoming communities
that are open to the gifts of each individual,
celebrating our interdependence with respect for all life.
Help us to appreciate all those, living with disabilities,
who contribute their time and talents,
even in the face of obstacles or misunderstanding.
We look to the future with optimism and with faith in you,
as we pursue our call to provide justice and fullness of life
for all people with disabilities.
We pray that every man, woman, and child
may develop their potential.
We offer you these prayers as one flock,
following the same shepherd,
Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer for Persons with Disabilities
God our Father,
who created all people in your image:
give persons with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities
opportunities to do all that they are able to,
and strengthen them to overcome challenges.
Jesus, who showed great compassion for those who suffer:
comfort all who feel like their gifts are not used
or that their value is not understood,
so that they might take courage in your affection.
Holy Spirit, who fills believers with all good gifts:
help me to reach out to persons with disabilities
through friendship, care, and working to be sure that our church
includes them in everything that we do
and to break down barriers to inclusion in society.
We ask this in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.