Two Masses scheduled to honor people with disabilities

Friday, Aug. 29, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Commission for People with Disabilities annually hosts a “Catholics Can Mass,”  but this year there will be two such Masses. The first will be Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City; the other will be Oct. 12 in Price. The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, will celebrate both Masses.

People with disabilities need to feel welcome and valued in the Church, and these Masses are one way to relay that fact, said Dolores Lopez, director of the Commission for People with Disabilities.

“The Catholic communities help celebrate the efforts and abilities of the disabled and the gifts they bring to their parish community,” said Lopez.

The diocese began celebrating Catholics Can Masses in 2008 as part of the efforts of the Diocesan Commission for Persons with Disabilities effort of “reaching out as Jesus did,” said Lopez.

The commission’s mission statement is based in part on the USCCB document Welcome and Justice for Persons with Disabilities: A Framework of Access and Inclusion, which emphasizes that “We must recognize and appreciate the contributions that persons with disabilities can make to the Church’s spiritual life and encourage them to do the Lord’s work in the world according to their God-given talents and capacity.”

The Catholics Can Mass is for everyone, regardless of age, because   “all persons have a disability at least once in their life (accidents, old age, illness, etc) and there are those born with a life-long disability,” said Lopez.  “All are invited [to the Mass] to celebrate the gifts and contributions of each person in Christ.”

Ministers during the Mass at Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Salt Lake City will include individuals with disabilities; there will be live captioning on a screen and American Sign Language interpreters for hard-of-hearing individuals and the Deaf; and low-gluten hosts for those who are gluten intolerant.

The Diocesan Commission for Persons with Disabilities’  mission is to reflect the heart of the Catholic faith by reaching out as Jesus did, according to their statement.

The commission statement also emphasizes six principals: Pray for all people with disabilities, their families, pastors and parish communities; educate the Catholic Community of Utah of the rights and needs of people with disabilities; promote the rights of accessibility and participation of all persons in diocesan and parish liturgical celebrations and catechetical programs to encourage full spiritual life in the Catholic faith; support the bishop, pastors, persons with disabilities and their families in pursuing positive faith-filled life experiences; assist parish communities in developing the means for full participation of persons with disabilities in all areas of ministry and programs in their parish communities; and give  thanks and appreciate the gifts persons with disabilities bring to the spiritual life of parishes and the diocese.

 

WHAT: Catholics Can Mass

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2 p.m. 

WHERE: Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic 

    Church, 1375 Spring Lane, SLC

A reception will follow Mass.

WHAT: Catholics Can Mass on the

  Wasatch Front 

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 12, 11 a.m. 

WHERE: Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic 

Church, 210 N. Carbon Ave., Price

For information, contact Dolores Lopez, 801-328-8641 ext. 333.