pathways, June 09
Children with intellectual disability and children with autism were made by God: they are not an accident and they are not a mistake. They are, like all children, an image of God. When I ask myself in what way these children who can't think or speak clearly and can't understand a lot of education are like God, I see clearly that it is in their spirit.
Their souls are unimpaired. Their hearts are pure, without agendas. Lacking the intellectual filters that normal kids have, they believe absolutely. It is a joy to lead prayer and worship with these children because they embrace it with whole hearts.
... These children are very specially God's children. They have a natural connection to God that Catholic schools are able to develop and support. This is
why it is so important for Catholic children with disabilities to have access to a Catholic education.
The Principal of a special education school, writing to Bishop Anthony Fisher OP (auxiliary, Sydney) and symposium keynote speaker
That all Catholic schools could share the cost of providing for children with disabilities has been proposed by a recent Catholic education symposium.
While recognising the need for more Government funding, the symposium projected that all Catholic schools could share cost while only some schools might take on the challenge of providing the services.
The day-long gathering in Sydney was called by the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes in New South Wales [CLRI(NSW)] to address one of the most difficult problems of Catholic education - the complex challenges of children with disabilities enrolling in ever-increasing numbers in Catholic schools.
"Every child counts," Bishop Anthony Fisher OP said in his keynote address to the symposium. "... of this no-one should be in doubt: according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church... To kill a child with a disability or neglect such a child to death is a crime against that child, humanity and God, and one against which the Church has long been outspoken.
"Of course saying NO to such things is not enough: we must say YES to a positive evaluation of every human being, of human diversity, of dependence and interdependence. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has done just this, in a range of Papal teaching, Vatican documents and national Church statements.
"But we must also say YES with more than words. By the witness of our lives, as individuals, families, schools and other institutions, we must proclaim loud and clear: every human life is a precious gift, a sacred trust, an image of God in our world, our brother or sister, another me, whose life is sacred and whose dignity immeasurable.
"God doesn't plan normal children and then make some mistakes; there is no mould for the Divine potter; each one He makes is unique, unrepeatable and beloved from all eternity. Together humanity are a rich and varied family, each with various gifts and limitations."
Attracting a wide range of interested parents, educators, theologians, academics, philosophers and business leaders from across New South Wales and the ACT, the symposium produced an ambitious set of actions to forward the cause.
According to one of the organisers, Sister Sharon Price RSM, other big-ticket proposals included
providing for children for whom no Catholic school was available due to the severity of the disability or geographic remoteness, and
seeking funding recognition that severe behaviour disorder prevented students accessing the curriculum as much as other disabilities.
While these were recognised as the "bigger", long-term proposals, she said, the first action from the symposium would be to set up a task force to examine opportunities and potential for collaboration across the Church.
This taskforce would develop a paper to present to the NSW/ACT Bishops' Conference on The Future of Education and Pastoral Care of Children with Disabilities in a Changing World, she said.
This would be a starting point from which to engage with the bishops in dialogue about the way forward for a Church that valued the life of a child with disabilities.
Sr Sharon, who is also CLRI(NSW) Executive Director, said the number of children with disabilities in Catholic schools had quadrupled in the last 20 years.
"More than three percent of children in Catholic schools have a diagnosed disability, considerably more than the population average," she said.
"There are significant problems. Government funding has not increased to match the increased needs.
"Teachers are stretched to the limit in trying to find strategies that work for the children who present with new and diverse challenges.
"Those schools which take on children with disabilities have to find extra funding from their own resources."
Sr Sharon said the other achievable steps put forward by the symposium were
to establish a ministry for those who work with children with disabilities
This would include
an annual retreat day for renewing spirits; recognition that this is a special calling and Masses for families with members with disabilities who cannot comfortably attend the regular Mass.
develop collaborative programmes that draw on the strength of congregational and diocesan, mainstream and special, schools for the benefit of all
This would include
Catholic training of special needs support staff
establish support and ministry for parents
This would include
the publication of a booklet providing information about Catholic services and options for parents when they first learn they have, or will have, a child with disabilities, including writings on the theology of disability in parent-friendly language
provide spiritual development of children with disabilities
This would include
establishing a team to identify the spiritual gifts of people with disabilities and the barriers to their inclusion in the full life of the Church and to identify ways in which people with disabilities can be trained and developed for an active role in their parish and Church.
further information about the symposium and its outcomes:
Sr Sharon Price RSM, telephone 02 96632199
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