St. Francis Borgia Deaf Center

CATHOLIC DEAF ENCUENTRO, PUEBLA, MEXICO

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:55:29 GMT

I arrived in Mexico City on Tuesday, July 27th. I am always amazed flying here. Mexico City is one of the most populated cities in the world, with 25 million people living here. The traffic, day or night, is always terrible.. The city is an incredible mix of many very poor neighborhoods, with other areas of the city with some of the best restaurants and most expensive shops in the world. Deacon Pat Graybill, Gerardo Castillo, Chelo Manero,me, and several others all piled into one van and drove for three hours(one hour to get out of the City!) to Puebla, Mexico.
The deaf Catholics of Mexico priests, and pastoral workers meet yearly in different locations in Mexico. Last year, the meeting was in Oaxaca at the southern end of Mexico. The meeting has many different purposes: strategic planning, prayer, learning, setting priorities for ministry, training. This year, Wed-Thurs (7/28-29) delegates and pastoral workers would meet. Then, July 30-31st, any deaf Catholics who wanted to come would join in. There are 31 states in the country of Mexico. Eighteen sent representatives to the gathering.
We arrived late, in a rain storm, on Tuesday evening at the Quinta(Inn) of San Ramon, a retreat center in a very poor neighborhood. We were greeted by pastoral workers and interpreters we knew. Also, several of the young people who had been on the Deaf Youth Encuentro three weeks ago were also there.Our rooms were simple; no air conditioning and sometimes hot water. We were so tired from travelling, we did not care and happily went to bed.
The next morning, I woke up early and went for a walk. Very few people on the streets. The housing was very poor; the streets very dirty. San Ramon is like a holy oasis in the middle of human suffering. Great poverty; people trying to survive. After a simple breakfast of fruit and stew, we went to work. We had a long meeting in the morning to discuss the work of the next three days. Then, we all gathered for a wonderful Mass in a beauitful, simple chapel. Then, the meeting formally began. DEACON PATRICK GRAYBILL of New York presented his history of a deaf pastoral worker, and his present work in New York. He signed in ASL (American Sign-Language); Gerardo and Chelo voiced in Sapnish; the Mexican interpreters signed in Mexican sign-language.
My presentations were next.I also signed in ASL, turned off my voice, and let the interpreters voice my talk into Spanish for the Mexican interpreters. My first presentation about the situation of ministry with deaf people in the world. A lot of people followed up with questions. Then, after a short break, my second presentation was on the two Conferences re:Deaf People in the Church that happened in the Vatican last November and recently in June. After a break, we attended and participated in a Conference on World Youth Day in Spain 2011. Dinner followed. Then, the interpreters had an almost two hour meeting. I had time to meet and try to converse in sign-language with people from various areas of Mexico. The deaf people from Oaxaca, very far south, use a sign-language that includes signs from the Indian languages of their region. Not sure if I made much sense to them, but we laughed, took lots of pictures, and enjoyed each others' company. The day finally ended about 11pm!

PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACH

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:30:58 GMT

One of the basic teachings of our religious faith is, "Practice what you preach." This means that if we "preach" something, "Love your neighbor as yourself, ","Forgive as God has forgiven you," then we must "practice" that teaching. How? By living in our daily lives what we say we believe. Apparently, people in the government of Illinois do not believe that; they don't "practice"(live) what they "preach"(command).
In Illinois, the state, county, and city governments order all citizens to pay their bills on time. You must pay your property taxes by a certain date. You must pay your water bills, too. By April 15th every year, you must file your state income taxes (along with your federal ones, too). If you do not pay what you owe and pay on time, the government can fine you, charge you a penalty, even take away your home or put you in jail. However, the State of Illinois does not believe it must do what it orders all of us to do. What do I mean?
The State of Illinois owes schools, hospitals, counseling agencies, rehabilitation organizations billions - billions - of dollars. The State of Illinois was supposed to pay many of these bills back in January. It is now almost August and the State still has not paid what it owes. So what has happened? People who have problems - mental health, substance abuse, special education, training for jobs, care for children - are not getting the help they need. Why? Because the agencies that want to help them have no money. WHY? BECAUSE the State of Illinois is not paying what it owes. Does this bother the State Representatvies and State Senators? No. They are all on vacation till after Labor Day. people with disabilities, including deaf people, are suffering in Illinois. Children with disabilities, including many deaf children, are suffering in Illinois. They are all suffering because the people in the State of Illinois government will not pay what the government owes, even though the government demands that all of us pay on time!
This Fall, these same government people are running for Governor, State Representative, State Senator. They want you to vote for them. Tell them you will not vote for them until they pay what they owe to our schools, fire and police departments, special education programs, mental health and substance abuse programs. THEY DON'T PAY WHAT THEY OWE; THEY DON'T GET OUR VOTES!

Some Lessons from Mexico

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:37:13 GMT

I have had some time to think about the Deaf Youth Encuentro held in Mexico, July 3-10th. These are a few thoughts from that experience.
1) We had deaf young people from the USA, Mexico, Venezuela, and Trinidad/Tobago; also a deaf priest from Spain. Four different sign-languages. Yet, these young people were able to figure out how to communicate with one another and work with each other in about a day. We live in a world where hearing people cannot seem to find ways to understand one another. The hearing world can learn a lot from deaf people!
2 Most of the young people told us stories about being "mainstreamed" into local schools. In most cases,the individual deaf young people were the ONLY deaf person in the entire school! Often, there were no sign-language interpreters. This is the situation that most deaf young people in the world face EVERYDAY! Many young deaf people NEVER have an opportunity to attend school. For that reason, many young, smart deaf quit school at age 14-15 to find work in a factory somewhere.
One deaf young man from northern Mexico told me that he works in a factory in his home town. The factory makes American products that are sold here in the USA. He described his job. He does maintenance & job "set-up" on several product lines. If he had that same job in the USA, it would pay $22-25/hr with benefits. The American company pays him $1.25/hr and the same rate for overtime hours without benefits. I know that product the company makes. It's price has not changed since it moved to Mexico. Who's making the difference in cost?(Certainly not the young man and all the other Mexicans employed by this "American" company.) And people in America wonder why people in Mexico want to work in the USA!
3 One night, because of a bad storm, we lost all electrical power. No lights; no power to pump water. For eight hours, we had no electricity, no running water for drinking, toilet, or bathing. The next morning, some people were grumbling about "this terrible problem." I reminded folks that we were inconvenienced for a short time. The people who live nearby on the local farms and in the small village must deal with this throughout their lives..
In fact, most of the world lives with shortages, outtages, "no power/clean water/sewage treatment" (in Iraq, there is still only electricity 4 hours/day). Look at the continuing situation in Haiti. Living in America, we are truly out of touch with how the vast majority of people on this planet live (survive). Our air-conditioning, big screen tvs, refrigeration, easy access to the internet, or fresh water have cut us off from any appreciation for what so many others can only dream about for themselves and their children. Having lost some convenience and comfort for a few hours, what had been a frustrating night turned into a lesson about gratefulness.

Mexico, one last time.

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:28:45 GMT

Don't get old. In thanking everyone, I did not thank one of our important team members, LAUREEN LYNCH-RYAN(Washington, D.C.) She worked very hard throughout the week, but had a good time doing that. I also, in my haste, left our GERARDO's last name, CASTILLO. He was the person who coordinated all the work with our interpreters: two spoken languages (English and Spanish); four sign-languages: ASL, Mexican, Venezuelan, and Spanish(Spain).

PICTURES(Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe)

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:35:44 GMT

For those who wish to view a video of Fr. jaime Guttierez, deaf priest, at the mass and other photos (fotos), go to: www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx/breves.htm, the scroll down to: 3rd Encuentro de Jovenes Catolicos Sordos and enjoy!

MEXICO (continued)

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:23:11 GMT

Before I finish my report on Mexico, I wish to thank JIM SMITH. Jim is the fellow who generously gives his time and talent to keep this web site and our other electronic services up to date and functioning. We all owe a great deal of thanks to him!

As I had previously written, we were getting ready to travel as a group to Mexico City on Wednesday, July 7th, to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is hard to explain what this sacred place means to people who are not Mexican. The people of Mexico believe (as I do!) that the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego,an Indian, at this spot in 1531. You cannot go into a Mexican home, anywhere in the world, without seeing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. People come from all over Mexico (all over the world!) everyday to visit and pray at the Basilica.
For our Mass, FR. JAIME GUTTIEREZ, the deaf priest from Spain was the Celebrant and homilist. We came out with him and our interpreters, spread out to interpret for our deaf group, for Deacon Pat Graybill(Rochester, NY), and for Fr. Jaime. Four years ago when we were there, we had to struggle with the ushers to let the interpreters (especially the WOMEN interpreters) get anywhere near the altar. This time, the staff at the Basilica were much more cooperative.
It had to be strange for the three thousand people in the basilica to watch Fr. Jaime celebrate Mass in sign, but hear a female voice, that of his interpreter Loreto. However, he gave a great homily. At the end of it, the three thousand people broke into applause(a very rare happening at a Mass in Mexico!). For me, I simply thanked Our Lady of Guadalupe for making the entire week possible! (Mass has been celebrate don this site since 1540; this was the first time in history a deaf priest celebrated Mass at the main altar!)
After the Mass and time to tour the grounds, we loaded everyone into the busses and went to La Feria, a sort of poor person's Great America. The young people had a ball; us older types watched the World Cup game! Back on the busses for a long, two-three hour drive back to Rancho Viejo through a rain storm. Everyone was happy to go to bed.
Thursday is our traditional day for physical challenges: people riding a "zip line" over half a mile of forest; "trust" exercises; team building including a project to make something to protect an egg being thrown like a discus. The young people absolutely enjoy this. Then, disaster!
That night, there was a horrific rain storm with blasting winds and more rain than I had ever seen. By 11pm, we had no electric power; no running water; generators could not cope. Everyone was hunkered down in their cabins, but without any lights, showers, or working toilets.
The next morning, because of lots of hard work by the Rancho Viejo staff, we began to get power and water back. It was a powerful lesson. Some of the young people complained about the conditions. However, I reminded them that this is how 80% of the people of the world live EVERYDAY! IT WAS A GOOD LESSON FOR ALL OF US!
The rest of the day: each of our four "groups": had prepared a very involved skit portraying a Gospel passage. We had started out,at the beginning of the week, with a group of young people who barely knew one another and had to struggle through a variety of sign-languages. Here they were, at the end of this week, one group after the other with imaginative, creative performances. We spent the afternoon evaluating what the week had meant, celebrated it at a beautiful Mass, had a great dinner, an exchange of gifts, and a bonfire blazing in the darkness of a Mexican night!
Next morning: packing, final hugs and good-byes, MANY TEARS, and we all headed home.
During the week, while the young people were working, we had all sorts of OTHER things happening: meetings for the Pastoral Workers from the various countries; meetings each night for the sign-language interpreters; a staff meeting each day (sometimes more than one) to make sure everything was proceeding on course.
I am most grateful to all of those who supported this effort. In a special way, I must thank; CHELO MANERO SOTO(Mexico City); DEACON PATRICK GRAYBILL(Rochester, NY); IAN ROBERTSON (Miami, FL); MARY ANN BARTH (Edgewood, KY); GERARDO (Washington, DC); the ESPARZA FAMILY of Rancho Viejo, Mexico for an extraordinary week. And, of course, our Lady of Guadalupe, who protected us and made the week the success it was!

Mexico

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:36:53 GMT

Because we had very little email access in Mexico and I returned to three funerals in Chicago, I am behind on my report re: Mexico. I will have a full report in this blog by the weekend.
Please pray for the families of those who have recently died.

Mexico

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:02:52 GMT

Starting Saturday, 30 young deaf from the USA, Mexico, Trinidada/Tobago, and Venezuela along with a team of 19 people have been
at Rancho Viejo, Valle de Bravo, Mexico. These young deaf people are amazing!!!! Enthusiastic, energetic, and open to God s Word. We have four sign languages, and at times three spoken languages going on simultaneously. The weather is not great; the accomodations are very basic; no one cares, we are so happy to be with one another. The food is wonderful, common Mexican food which is healthy and delicious. Last night in the midst of a rain storm, Fr. Jaime from Spain celebrated Mass. Today, the groups of young people have developed some amazing skits about Gospel stories. They have left us so called mature adults in tears at their faith.
Tomorrow, we will journey to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe for Mass.. I will offer mass for all of you who have made this week possible.

MEXICO

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:07:55 GMT

I flew from Chicago to Mexico City on Thursday, July 1. We bumped a bit near the hurricane, but arrived safely. On Friday, July 2nd, our team (interpreters and youth staff) had meetings most of the day. We have four sign-languages for the coming week: ASL, Mexican, Venezuelan, and Spain. It takes time to work out who is interpreting for whom, how to schedule everyone, which groups need which staff, etc. This morning, I will stay at the hotel to greet the young people flying in for theEncuentro(gathering). This afternoon, we all board busses to take us to the camp, RANCHO VIEJO, VALLE DE BRAVO, MEXICO. Please pray for the safe travel of everyone, and that this week we will help these young people deepen their Faith.

SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN & THE LAW

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:50:05 GMT

During the last few years, there has been a great deal of publicity re: the sexual abuse of young children by Catholic priests. Because of this publicity, many states have passed laws that demand people report neglect and abuse. Also, other laws have lengthened the time that victims can bring their cases to courts seeking justice and/or money. However, there seems to be a misunderstanding. The states did NOT pass laws saying that the laws ONLY applied to Catholic priests or the Catholic Church. These laws apply to EVERYONE!
If someone in a family sexually abuses a child and you know about this, you have to call the police. If you do not do this, then the police can arrest YOU! Why? Because you knew about a crime and did nothing. 75% of ALL sexual abuse takes place in families. If someone in the family is sexually molesting a child, YOUR duty is to protect the child, NOT the abuser!
If you work(or are a volunteer) in a school, a summer camp, a gym,a travelling team, a social club and you suspect a child is the victim of sexual abuse, you MUST call the police. If a child tells you a story about someone touching them sexually or threatening them to shut up and you do not report it, then the police can arrest YOU! Why? Because you did not report the endangerment of a child.
If you are involved in a church, mosque, synagogue - any religious group - and someone sexually abuses a child, has child pornography, etc. you MUST call the police. If you do not, later on the child, as an adult, can sue YOU. Why? Because you knew about the crime and did nothing! People have sued the Catholic Church for hundreds of millions of dollars. Why? Because Church leaders knew about sexual abuse and did not report it. If they sued the Catholic Church, they can sue ANY religious group.
If you are Jewish,a Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, Baptist, whatever, and you suffered sexual abuse as a member of that religion, you have the right to sue that group for the abuse you suffered.
No one - NO ONE! - has the right to sexually abuse any child, at any time, for any reason.

"WILL SPECIAL EDUCATION BE 'SPECIAL' ANYMORE?"

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:59:21 GMT

The Chicago Board of Education recently voted to give the Superintendent of Schools much greater authority to change the way education happens in the Chicago Public Schools. Last week, an article in the newspaper described how one suburban school district send their students with disabilities to a program that is not certified by the State of Illinois. Many school districts are facing severe budget problems. One group that always receives blame are special education students. Why? Because their education costs more than for "normal" students.
The summer means that parents are away or pay less attention to what is happening in their school districts. It is VERY important for any parent who has a child with a disability to stay in touch with your school district or special education program. Find out if there are school board meetings that will discuss cutting or reducing programs. Ask the Special Education Office if there are any changes planned for the Fall. Talk to other parents to make sure everyone is staying aware and knowledgeable about programs for their children.

Rome 2010 Summary

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:40:00 GMT

Having kept pages and pages of notes from the recent Conference at the Vatican, June 4-6, 2010, I will try to give what I hope is a fair summary of the days we were together. I will add my personal observations at the end.

Friday, June 4TH: approximately 70 people gathered for the Conference at the Pius X Auditorium. Forty deaf, almost all from Italy; thirty hearing: priests, religious, representatives from Vatican offices and the government of Italy. My talk was followed by a talk by PROFESSOR MASSIMO BARALDI. He chronicled the history of institutional schools for the deaf in Italy, with emphasis on religious formation. With the coming of mainstreaming, much of what the schools had been able to do in terms of religious formation has been lost. Many young deaf people have no clear religious affiliation or identity. His experience in Italy is similar to ours in the USA where the institutional schools are seeing more deaf young people with at least one other serious disability, and also young deaf people who have "failed" in mainstream settings who now are sent to the institutional schools with the label, "failure".

However, it was DEACON JOSEF ROTHKOPF (deaf, Germany) whose talk started serious discussions among the participants. (Father Christian from Germany was his interpreter!) Deacon Josef addressed the issue of how do we proclaim God's Word(Scripture) in an effective way in the deaf community. Josef talked about how the Bible has been translated over the years and that even now there are many different translations of the Bible in the same language. Can we develop translations of the Bible that are appropriate to the deaf without diminishing the content of the message? In Italy right now, the Jehovah's Witnesses are very active among the deaf, using the Bible "against" the Church. How do we respond?
Later in the day(I will return to a talk that happened in between), FR. GERARD TYRRELL explained his work as a "Chaplain" for the deaf in Ireland. What caused quite a stir was when Fr. Gerard happened to show the "Lectionary for the Deaf" used in the British Isles.

BANG! Between Deacon Josef's presentation and Fr. Gerrard's, the deaf participants took over the proceedings.The questions and comments flew furiously! Who wrote these? Are there other "Deaf Lectionaries" in other countries? How do you develop them? Do the deaf have a part in this process? How do you evaluate he quality? Do these become so "deaf friendly" that they lose the power of God's Word? At the same time, there was a general dissatisfaction among the deaf about simply having to sign the "hearing"translations of the Bible at Mass.

This whole issue bled into another issue that was not on the agenda: sign-language interpreters and their role in the Liturgy. Again, there was a lot of response on this from the deaf. How do interpreters learn to do religious interpreting? Is there any way to evaluate their skills? Is there training for religious signing? Volunteer interpreters vs. paid, professional interpreters. Everyone agreed that this issue, tied into the former one on translations, was very important to deaf people in Italy.

Earlier that same day, SR. VERONICA DONATELLO (Religious Sister, CODA, professional interpreter) gave a talk on developing Christian formation programs for deaf adults.She outlined several different programs in Italy (the ABC course; the "ZERO" course) that she and others have used. The next day, FR. SAVINO CASTIGLIONE (Rome) gave a good talk on celebrating the liturgy and sacraments in ways that deaf people can understand. However, between the two presenters there was an obvious disagreement re: strategies.(Both people care very much about the Faith and deaf people.) While Sr. Veronica opts for a more active outreach to the deaf, Fr. Savino would emphasize the importance of having a center, a place where the deaf can come for services. Sr. Veronica's push would be for going to the deaf wherever they are. Fr. Savino emphasizes establishing more Church centers where the deaf know they can receive whatever help they need. Enter into this discussion, FR. JAIME GUTIERREZ VILLANUEVA(deaf priest, Spain). (Thanks a bunch to LORETO his interpreter.) Fr. Jaime talked about his work with the deaf in Madrid, and the pastoral situation in Spain. (70 dioceses;17 with some sort of deaf ministry.) His description of pastoral work seemed to take in both approaches (discussed above), but with a huge emphasis on technology: web-sites, DVDs, twitter, texting, etc. Fr. Jaime's point was that you do need some sort of identifiable place where the deaf can come for worship (he has a parish for the deaf (Saint Mary of Silence in Madrid), but continue aggressive outreaches to the deaf, and in a special way using technology to reach deaf youth. For example: every Sunday, the readings and homily at his deaf Mass are taped and put on the web.

Later, Fr. Jaime gave a presentation on World Youth Day in Spain 2011. www.madrid11.com (You can click on the "Disability" link for good info on their plans. Fr. Gerard and I spent three hours Sunday after the Conference discussing with Fr. J and Loreto just how the deaf piece of the WYD would be worked out.)

There were other speakers, presenters, but the issues that continued to surface were the following:

1) GOD'S WORD: how do we proclaim the message of salvation that is both respectful of the message, yet appropriate for deaf people? What is the role of our bishops in all this?

2) INTERPRETERS: these are key people in the transmission of the truths of Faith. Training? Resources? On-going learning? Evaluation?

3) TECHNOLOGY: this is the world in which many deaf people now relate to one another and to the wider world. How do we use this in an effective way? How do we manage this in a responsible way? Who has the say in how this is to be used?

4) PASTORAL STRATEGIES: in a Church that still does not seem to recognize the unique pastoral challenges of deaf ministry, what strategies give us the best results. How do we measure "results"?

5) WORLD YOUTH DAY: how do we take advantage of this unique opportunity to bring deaf youth into greater participation in the Church's life?

The Congregation did develop a set of "Conclusions" (in Italian), so we need to wait for their translation.

SOME PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS:

1 I felt honored to be involved in this Conference and to represent the ICF.

2 It is obvious that the Pontifical Council on the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers feels it has done all it can to promote deaf ministry. Several times, the message was: "The Council has opened a "window" in the Church; YOU have to act, NOW! This is YOUR time to move!"

3 At the same time, we all need to be most grateful to Archbishop Zimowski and especially Archbishop Redrardo and the staff of the Council for its support.(Archbishop Redrardo gave a great homily at the Mass on Sunday re: deaf people in the Church!)

4 ICF performs a valuable function. It is really the only organization right now coordinating information on deaf ministries on an international level.

5 Deaf people are hungering for greater participation in the life of the Church. We need to create more opportunities for this.

If there is some topic on which you need more info or clarification, feel free to contact me at :jmulcrone@archchicago.org

VATICAN CONFERENCE, continued.

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:22:34 GMT

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, the Conference was officially "over". (I encouraged people to come to Chicago in 2011 for the ICDA Conference.)Was able to take a nice walk around Rome which has suddenly become VERY hot! May was rainy and cool; now the temperature has spiked! Later in the afternoon, FR. TYRRELL(IRELAND) & I spent two hours discussing World Youth Day with FR. JAIME VILLANUEVA & LORETO (the interpreter) from MADRID, SPAIN. The issues involving deaf young people, programs, interpreters are all complicated, but we all want World Youth Day in Spain next year to be very accessible to the deaf!
Later that evening, FR. GERARD & I went to dinner with FR. JOHN KENNEDY of Ireland who works in the Vatican. Romans eat dinner very late, always after 8pm.We did not sit down to eat till 9pm, and the place was packed. The food, of course, was wonderful!
Because a lot of my talk focussed on health care issues and deaf people, I have been reading on this trip an exceptional book: PASSAGES IN CAREGIVING: Turning Chaos Into Confidence by Gail Sheehy. Morrow;2010. This is a very well written, and very helpful book for all families, especially those with family members who are older and/or ill.

VATICAN CONFERENCE,third report

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:36:00 GMT

The Conference began with Mass at 9am. The site was a local parish church in Rome. We had deaf readers, deacon, priest along with interpreters and priests, like me, using our own sign-languages. About fifty deaf from Rome attended along with the regular parishioners who, I doubt, had ever been to a "deaf Mass." The Conference resumed at 10am. We had a long discussion(almost 2 hours) about "what next?" Archbishop Redrardo who is VERY supportive of our work, said, "this work is YOURS! We in the Vatican can only do so much, now YOU have to get this done!"
As in November, there was a set of "Recommendations" (6) that came out of the Conference.(Some apply to the pastoral situation in italy; others have a universal message.) I have a copy (in Italian!), but I am sure we will see a translation soon into English.
One of the announcements at the end of the Conference was about an Ecumenical Conference on Pastoral Work with the Deaf in Assisi, Italy, Sept.9-14, 2010. www.domuspacis.it

I have twenty pages of notes. Obviously I cannot reproduce them here (I was writing furiously through most of the Conference). When I get back to the USA, I will do my best to summarize the discussions, themes, etc from this Conference, then get them out to everyone.

Again, gorgeous, very warm weather in Rome today. During the trip I have been reading A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ANCIENT ROME by Alberto Angela. Europa Books; 2009. He describes what life was like for the average Roman in the year 115. Fascinating to read it, then walk some of the same streets. Also, this book gave me a much better sense of how difficult it was for the first Christians in Rome to live their Faith and convert others to the Faith. Some of his personal reflections and observations are quite powerful and relevant to our lives today!

Have to close for now; the desk person wants to leave and needs the computer to be shut off. Will write more this week. God bless all of you from Rome!

VATICAN CONFERENCE, continued

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 06:28:00 GMT

The Saturday afternoon session began with a presentation by FR. MAURO SARNI, the priest for the deaf in the Diocese of TRANI, ITALY.
he talked about his own history in deaf ministry. Then, gave a very structured plan of how to go about starting a deaf ministry in a diocese that does not have a previous history with deaf ministry.

Then, FR. JAIME GUTIERREZ VILLANUEVA, from madrid, presented a very detailed explanation of WORLD YOUTH DAY 2011 in Madrid, AUGUST 16-21, 2011. The committee in madrid has been very inclusive of the deaf and people with disabilities since the beginning of the planning.

The basic website is www.madrid11.com. To reach the deaf ministry directly by email: sordos@jmj2011madrid.com Later, talking with Fr. Jaime and his interpreter Loreto, they are very anxious to have a good turnout of deaf youth in Spain. At the same time, they want to know who will be bringing interpreters, how many, etc. It raises an issue for me. In Chicago, we hope to bring a deaf group and have already contacted several interpreters who know Spanish and ASL. (Knowing Spanish is NOT a requirement, but it certainly will help.) However, for deaf Catholic groups around the USA who may only be sending a couple of deaf and who cannot afford to pay for an interpreter, we need to coordinate this. That is, those dioceses who will send the deaf need to get the information to a central place. I will discuss this with ICF to see how we might be able to handle this.

There were several representatives from the Italian bishops' conference at the meeting who asked to speak for a few minutes. We also had a liely session of exchanges between the presenters and people attending the gathering. We finished around 7:30pm. Then, a group of us -hearing & deaf; American, Irish, Spanish, Italian -went out to eat. The conversation at the table was fun, challenging(4 different sign-languages; three different spoken languages), and very confusing to the waiters in the restaurant. We were in a part of Rome, Trevere, which was totally jammed with people on a beautiful Saturday evening in Rome.

I am writing this Sunday morning as we head off for Mass, then the last session of the Conference.

VATICAN CONFERENCE ON THE DEAF PERSON, ANNOUNCER OF THE GOSPEL, VATICAN CITY

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:26:00 GMT

THURSDAY, JUNE 3rd: things did NOT get off to a great start. I arrived in Rome at 7:05am, but my bags (and all my clothes) had been left behind in Atlanta, GA. I had to go out to buy a black suit and clergy shirt! That evening, FR. GERARD TYRRELL(Ireland) & I went to join the Italian deaf for a Mass with the Pope to celebrate Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ) at St. John Lateran. We were outside and a terrible storm(the worst in Rome in two years!) hit us and we were drenched. The Mass was moved to the inside of the church. The Pope cmae; he looks so frail! Yet, he celebrated the Mass with great energy and faith.

FRIDAY, JUNE 4th: The Conference on EPHPHETA! THE DEAF PERSON, ANNOUNCER OF THE GOSPEL, began at 9am in the Pius X Auditorium, Vatican City. ARCHBISHOP ZYGMUNT ZIMOWSKI & ARCHBISHOP JOSE REDRARDO both greeted us to begin the Conference. The Conference is all in Italian (voice and sign-language). We have listening devices with a person to translate into English. The opening prayer was done with a beautiful video using the Italian language, music, and gorgeous images. Everyone signed the prayer, along with the video, in Italian sign-language. (Italian sign-language and American sign-language are not the same.) We also have people interpreting the conference in german and Spanish(Spain) sign-language.

I gave the opening talk, "SIGNS OF HEALING AND MERCY TO DEAF PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK AND SUFFERING." I discussed the talk with the Italian interpreters. One of my topics was "HOSPICE". Interestingly, "Hospice" is not a well-known idea in Europe. In fact, there is no sign for the word! A big emphasis in my talk was deaf people as Care Ministers of the Sick. The deaf who attended the talk were very interested in this, because it is a new idea for them. One of my other topics was the whole area of mental health care and the deaf. Again, several people expressed a concern that very little is done re: mental health and the deaf, outside of USA, England, Ireland.

The next speaker was PROFESSOR MASSIMO BARALDI, the Director of one of the institutional schools for the deaf in Italy. He discussed the history of the institutional schools for the deaf, what is happening in deaf education in Italy now, and what is the future. He told me later that in Italy there is a huge increase in the number of deaf children who have disabilities, and no one seems to know why. He said that when the deaf attended the institutional schools, they learned the Catholic Faith. Now, with mainstreaming, many young deaf have no idea what the Catholic Faith means.

After a break, DR. JOSEF ROTHKOPF, deaf Permanent Deacon from Germany, gave a powerful presentation re: evangelization with deaf people. He emphasized the need to do a much better job using the Bible in evangelization. However, he pointed out that we need to figure out how to take the Bible and "translate" it into a language deaf people can understand and use.

There was a question and answer period, with a lot of discussion centering around Deacon Josef's topic. It was 12:30pm. Following the Italian tradition, we broke for lunch to return at 4pm!

The afternoon: SR. VERONICA DONATELLO, the hearing daughter of Italian deaf parents and a religious Sister, gave her presentation on Spiritual Formation programs for adult deaf people. She emphasized how more and more of these programs depend on being creative with technology, especially computers. The deaf ARE hungry to learn about Jesus and what His message is. However, technology can never replace human interaction.

The final presentation was by FR. GERARD TYRRELL from Ireland. He described the program of Chaplaincy for the Deaf in Ireland. Part of his talk explained the use of the "Lectionary (Bible readings at Mass) for the Deaf" used in Ireland." Then the discussion...and what a discussion!!!!

We spent well over an hour with all sorts of questions and comments from the deaf community re: how to develop a lectionary for deaf people; how do we take a written langauge(the Bible), translate it into our native languages (Italian, English, etc), then translate it again into sign-languages. This topic caused a lot of discussion(that continued into Saturday) re: the difference between "adapting" the Bible into sign-language without destroying the content of the Scriptures. We finally ended at 8pm!

SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE 5TH: a glorious, beauitful day in Rome! Not a cloud in the sky. It is "tourist season" in Italy and the streets of Rome and the Vatican are jammed! None of us want to go inside to the meeting, but.......

The lead-off speaker this morning is FR. SAVINO CASTIGLIONE, the priest who works with the deaf community of Rome. He gave an excellent talk about the Liturgy, the sacraments, and deaf people. He made a wonderful point:in the Mass we do not celebrate "magic", but a "mystery", that Jesus Christ is present with us here and now. He emphasized that for many deaf people, they do not understand the Sacraments and how Christ is present in each Sacrament.

Next FR. JAIME GUTIERREZ VILLANUEVA, young deaf priest from Spain(www.stamsilencio.com), gave his talk on celebrating the sacraments for and with deaf people. He uses websites in a very powerful way to do faith education with the deaf community. In Spain there are three deaf priests. There are 70 dioceses, but only 17 have any kind of deaf ministry.

Again, we had a very energetic, at times "heated", discussion about: sign-language interpreters(how do they get trained; how do they develop skills in religious signing; what is their role at Mass); Bible texts(don't dumb down the texts, this insults deaf people); what is a "deaf liturgy"; how do we proclaim the faith in a "deaf way"; how to attract deaf young people to the Faith. Even though the topic is Italy, so many of the questions apply to deaf ministry throughout the world.

Time for lunch, 12:30pm. I head back to the place where we are staying, THE DOMUS SANTAE MARTHAE, the hotel in the Vatican. The weather is unbelievable: sunny, warm, not a single cloud in the sky. For lunch I stop at one of the food vans that are all over Rome. I get a pannini (salami & cheese sandwich), an ice tea, and walk back enjoying Rome on a gorgeous summer day. The next set of Conferences begin at 4pm (more in my next report). By the way, my clothes finally arrived around 5pm on Friday!

IS 'THE BODY OF CHRIST' WILLING TO BE DISABLED?

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:55:54 GMT

Travelling around the country these last few months, I have been noticing more and more dioceses and archdioceses cutting back on services to people who are disabled and/or deaf. More than half of the dioceses in the United States do not have one full-time person whose sole responsibility is ministry to this expanding community. Some of these dioceses might respond, "we have made our church buildings more accessible." Truthfully, many more church buildings are accessible than twenty years ago. However, making a building physically accessible is the easiest kind of accessibility. Most dioceses of the Catholic Church pay little or no attention to people with disabilities or their families. Some examples:
a) there are few dioceses that have any staff person responsible for the religious education of children with disabilites. Many of the families of these children have long ago left the Church;
b) there are very few people with disabilities whom the Church hires as employees. There is no aggressive campaign by dioceses to do this;
c) the population of persons with disabilities is expanding; more "boomers" are becoming disabled; we have a mushrooming population of "wounded warriors" returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have a multiplicity of disabling conditions. Outside of a few dioceses like Washington, DC, little is being done in response to this phenomenon.
Those who lead the Church love to talk about how all are welcome into the Body of Christ. In terms of putting your money where your mouth is, this is simply false. The number of people with disabilities in our church communities compared with the number of people with disabilities in our society is incredibly disproportionate. Most people who are deaf and/or disabled simply do not feel welcome, do not feel they belong, are not hired for any jobs, given any responsibilities, and generally believe that the Church is only interested in you if you are able-bodied.

What Trinity Sunday Teaches Us about God

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Sat, 29 May 2010 12:25:46 GMT

On Friday evening, 5/28, I was part of two small ceremonies. First, I went to visit a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The husband has a lot of physical problems and has not been able to leave his home for several years. His wife sat on the bed with him as I prayed over them, thanking God for their 50 years of marriage, and His love for them. One of their sons was present. Small, simple; a couple of hard working people who raised a bunch of kids, steered them in the right direction, kept their faith in God and each other. When it was done, we celebrated with a cup of coffee.
Later that same evening, I drove to a suburban funeral home for a service for a deaf man who had died very suddenly last Sunday. He and his wife had been married almost 40 years; no children. He had been very devoted to her through the years and her illnesses. His death was a shock and a cause of great sadness for all those who knew him. About thirty people were there as we said "good-bye" to this good man.
TRINITY SUNDAY celebrates that the God of all Christians is a God of relationships. The Father loves His Son; the Father loved us so much that "He sent His only Son so that through Him we might be saved"; the Father and Son's love for one another gave us the Holy Spirit so that we might continue to love one another. Trinity Sunday tells us that the Trinity is a mystery because love is a mystery! Even God does not want to be alone!
If we want to truly celebrate the wonderful gift of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - then look around your dining room/kitchen/picnic/back yard table this Memorial Day weekend. Look at the people who are there, who fill our lives with their love. Go to the cemetery. Bring a pail for water to wash off the grime of winter; bring some shears to cut away the clutter. Then stand there and simply remember how much you were loved, how much you were given, how much you owe. And in that quiet moment, when the whole mystery of loving and being loved overtakes you, then realize you have gotten as close to understanding the Trinity as you ever will.

ADA & WHAT THE LAW MEANS TO OUR COMMUNITY

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:50:44 GMT

Earlier today (5/20), I went to visit a deaf person in a hospital. When I arrived, there was a sign-language interpreter there. On the patient's night stand, there was a tty next to the phone. The interpreter was very skilled in making the communication between the patient and the doctor clear and accurate for both people.
Twenty-five years ago, a young deaf man was injured in an auto accident on the southside of Chicago. The paramedics brought him to a hospital emergency room. The young man pleaded for a sign-language interpreter. The hospital told him that he appeared to be okay, and that an interpreter was not needed. The hospital sent him home. He died six hours later from internal bleeding. The family sued the hospital and eventually got a settlement of over 5 million dollars.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has been a great benefit for deaf people, persons with disabilities, and the larger community. (The interpreter and tty in the hospital room today are a result of the ADA.) The ADA has helped people get jobs; prevented people with disabilities from being arrested, tried and convicted unjustly; and has allowed deaf people to have access to the SAME medical services as non-disabled persons. At the same time, the ADA has saved businesses and organizations from costly law suits based on discrimination and the myths tied to people with disabilities.
The ADA is an incredible sign of hope to people in other countries. When I have explained the law in places such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Italy, deaf people and people with disabilities have said that such a law in their countries would change forever their lives for the better. The ADA is something that everyone - EVERYONE - in our country should prize and fight to maintain. People who claim that the law is an unfair or costly burden on society simply do not know what they are talking about.

Who Will Fight THIS Time?

Fr Joe Mulcrone — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:48:04 GMT

In the 1980's & 90's, a group of deaf and hearing advocates worked together to change deaf services in Illinois. From their efforts, we created...
....the State of Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission;
....mental health services for deaf people in Illinois;
....a State-Wide Coordinator of Deaf Services for DCFS;
....a change in the way the State provided Vocational Services(DVR) for deaf people;
....interpreter referral services for deaf people;
....ARD (Addiction Recovery of the Deaf).
Many of those who worked for these changes are dead, retired, have moved, or have just gotten old (like me!). Now, there are new threats to the deaf community...
....a recent article in the "Chicago Tribune" suggested the State of Illinois could save money by not funding the State Commission for the Deaf;
....the State of Illinois planned to eliminate all funding for the State of Illinois Deaf-Blind School; this decision was changed, at least for this year;
....a group of deaf and hearing were working to pass a bill in Springfield to help pay for hearing aids. At the last minute, the legislator who was supposed to be on "our side" switched sides in favor of the insurance companies, and the bill died;
....the State of Illinois is so far behind in paying bills to deaf mental health services, that we will see a loss of mental health counseling services for the deaf beginning this summer;
....because the State of Illinois has not paid what it owes to school districts, we will see cuts to Special Education (including deaf programs) when schools open again in the Fall;
....in Washington, DC, the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) wants to cut funding for Deaf Communication needs meaning fewer interpreters for Relay calls(and longer waiting times), less VP services, reduced training for Relay interpreters, etc.
There are good, hard working deaf advocates in our community. However, many other deaf do not know the history of why we have good services now. Many deaf enjoy VP; the ability to get a sign-language interpreter for weddings, etc; counseling services. Many hearing parents of deaf children do not realize how hard we had to work to force school districts to provide for deaf students.
IF the deaf community, hearing parents of deaf children, interpreters, Special Education teachers and aides do NOT work together, then much of what we worked to achieve in the last thirty years WILL be lost in Illinois and nationally. The State Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, IAD, ITHI, IRID, WSAD,CCE,CCD, etc need to get together and develop a common agenda or we will soon return to a time (only thirty years ago) when the government ignored the deaf community and did nothing for its deaf citizens and their families.

....