What is access versus inclusion?

Access to our churches is about overcoming structural and communication barriers. It allows a person with a disability to physically "get to Mass" . It may mean installing a ramp, having materials available in Braille, or arranging for an interpreter for deaf parishioners. It may be something as simple as a different seating arrangement, so a parishioner in a wheelchair can sit near familiy or friends.

Inclusion, on the other hand, is about making each person feel like a valued member of the community. At its core is the teaching that each person is created in the image of God and has gifts and talents to offer to a congregation. Being sensitive and acting in a way not to exclude those who are different , even if it's not intended, can take time, education and awareness.

The reality is that physical access is much easier to achieve than inclusion, simply because it can be planned out step by step. A parish can set aside funds and time to build a ramp or make a bathroom accessible. When the renovation is finished, physical access has been achieved.

But inclusion is not as tangible and therefore more difficult to achieve. It is important to stress, as a Catholic with a disability, that it is a two way street. People with disabilities who have gifts and talents to offer need to participate in their parishes and "show up". This may feel intimidating to some, but change will only come about through those who do so. Parishioners who are disabled need to be willing to invest their time and energy as volunteers for their parish - just like anyone else.

Other parishioners can help by keeping an open mind about including a parishioner with a disability as a volunteer or committee member. People may be used to thinking of folks with disabilities as helpless or unable to contribute - at least until they work with and have a positive experience with a blind parishioner, for example, who sings in the choir or acts as lector. Not only will parishioners realize that the blind parishioner is just as capable at these tasks as sighted people, but such interaction will reveal more common grounds than differences.

Why is inclusion so important to our Church? Because it affects not only parishioners who are in our parishes, but those who do not come because they are afraid they won't be welcomed. As technology and equipment has improved, people with disabilities who used to be marginalized in society no longer need to be.

Those of us with disabilities who can participate need to do so, to pave the way for others, including the next generation.

We Catholics believe in the sanctity and dignity of every human life and , by practicing inclusion of people with disabilities, we can turn our parish communities into living examples of our beliefs.