Ministry for Persons with Disabilities
An important aspect of the Ministry for Persons with Disabilities is the leadership and guidance given by Bishop’s Advisory Board for Persons with Disabilities. Taken from their mission statement, “…Bishop’s Advisory Board for Persons with Disabilities uses Jesus’ model of accepting people with diverse gifts and abilities and strives to ensure that all people have the opportunity to fully participate in the life of the church.” Resources currently available through the Office for Social Ministry include assistance with coordinating Sign Language Interpreting for church related services, site surveys for accessibility and other technical assistance with program access. Additionally, our ministry works closely with the Diocesan Department of Religious Education in providing technical support and guidance for serving individuals with special needs, to include requests for children and adults wishing to receive their sacraments. Many wonderful resources, to include the Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities may be found on the National Catholic Partnership on Disability website at http://www.ncpd.org.