An unlimited Joy

What is the contribution of the faithful with disabilities to the life of the Church?

“An Unlimited Joy”, the document we are publishing today and which was presented to the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, is an attempt to answer this question and overturn the paternalistic approach that still too often prevails when speaking about disabilities.

How to be more of a synodal Church in mission: a consultation with a group of people with disabilities from the five continents

The document summarises a consultation with a group of people with disabilities from the five continents, representing international Episcopal Conferences and Associations, who discussed how to be more of a synodal Church in mission.

In presenting the document, the Secretary of the Dicastery, Gleison De Paula Souza, stressed that: “to be the Church of everyone, everyone, everyone – as the Holy Father has repeatedly asked us – it is necessary to learn to recognise that persons with disabilities are faithful who share with every Christian the same baptismal dignity and the common vocation to holiness”.

Since September 2022, a contribution to the reflection on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the life of the Church

Since September 2022, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has invited a group of the faithful with disabilities to participate in the synodal journey through a special listening session dedicated to them. The first meeting resulted in the publication of the text “The Church is Our Home”.

The documents, which were originally produced to assist with the drafting of Instrumentum Laboris for the first and second sessions of the Synod, are today offered as contributions to the reflection on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the life of the Church.