MISSION STATEMENT
The office for persons with disabilities serves the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, under the patronage of bishop John Stowe Ofm, Conv. to pursue it’s mission by working to create a culture of inclusion and meaningful participation for persons with disabilities in our parishes and neighbors who are deaf , blind , mental illness, intellectual problems, developmental autism and physical disabilities.
We organize and provide consistent support , advocacy and awareness for our parishes while also implementing practices, and policies within the Diocese to assist parishes in their role of offering the fullness of the faith to all people.
ABOUT
The office for persons with disabilities for the Catholic diocese of Lexington works to focus our office around the USCCB’s pastoral statement on persons with disabilities. This document encourage individuals , families, parishes and the Church atlarge to work towards welcoming persons with disabilities into full participation in our ecclesial, communities and to advocate for the needs of persons with disabilities in the secular realm.
ACTIVITIES/ MINISTRIES:
The office of persons with disabilities will promote full inclusion in the regular activities of every single parish in the Diocese of Lexington by education and promoting all parishes to include all developmentally disabled people to full participation in the regular parish activities particularly with the Holy Mass which includes serving as altar serves, cross bearers , hospitality , holy communion distributors and greeters at the sunday masses.
It will promote each parish to provide a special designed sacramental and Catechetical to educate the developmentally disabled people in the matters of Catholic faith and tradition.
The office of the Disabled persons will assist various parishes in finding and referring proper catechetical materials designed for the developmentally disabled persons;
Lastly the office of disabled persons will promote and encourage each parish in the Catholic diocese of Lexington to seek and invite developmentally disabled people to register and in the parish sacramental and liturgical activities as much as possible.
APOSTOLATE FOR DEAF AND HEARING IMPAIRED
The office of disabled persons will continue to promote full inclusion of the Catholic deaf community in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Catholic diocese of Lexington. This will include in allocating and providing a qualified American sign language interpreter in performing liturgical interpreting services in some parishes that have some members of deaf faithful people who depends on ASL . Also the office of disabled persons will serve to promote more Catholic leadership among the Catholic deaf community in assuming more parish responsibilities in providing Catechetical programs in American sign language by offering annual Leadership workshop and retreat conference in ASL.
The office will work closely with Ss. Peter and Paul parish in Danville in providing basic training with sunday mass readings and serving at mass as acolytes.
The Catholic Diocese of Lexington office of the Disabled persons will make effort to provide sacramental and liturgical accommodations for the visually impaired and blind people with distribution of sunday mass missalettes in braille and large printed textbooks as well as audio assistance, the Diocese also will promote and encourage the visually impaired and blind people to subscribe to online Catholic news and
pastoral networks as well as on TV networks such as EWTN and the like The office of Disabled persons will contact each parish to promote more awareness of the visually impaired people and to provide guidance for the parish to provide accommodations for them such as audiovisual equipment and training as lectors at sunday mass, missalettes in braille and large printed textbooks as well as audio assistances.
The Catholic Diocese also will, promote and encourage the visually impaired and blind people to subscribe to online Catholic news and pastoral network;as well as on TV networks such as EWTN and the like. The office of disabled persons will contact each parish to promote more awareness of the visually impaired people and to provide accommodations for them such as audiovisual equipment and training as lectors at Sunday Mass.
The Catholic diocese of Lexington office of the disabled persons will visit as many diocesan parishes as possible to evaluate the accessibility of the physically disabled people to gain entry into the Churches. The Coordinator will help to provide suggestions and guidelines, set up by the National Catholic partnership on disabilities ,for parishes to make reasonable accommodations for the physically disabled people to attend parishes for all of their liturgical and sacramental activities . Also the office will encourage the pastors to promote more participation and inclusion of physically disabled people to serve as lectors and Holy Communion distributors.
Chronically ill people , including those with severe illness caused by HIV/AIDS are encouraged to participate in all parishes activities. This will include an outreach program by each parish to seek those who are chronically ill to receive adequate sacramental spiritual and pastoral care by the parish and parishioners serving on voluntary basis which includes bringing Holy communion to them, especially those who are shut in.
RESOURCES WITH LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES:
I.) NCPD: National Catholic Partnership on Disability
II.) National Catholic office of Deaf
III.) For Blind and Visually Impaired People
Contact Us
The Catholic Center
1310 West Main Street Lexington, KY 40508 –20480;
859–253–1993
