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Los Angeles, Calif., Jun 19, 2016 / 04:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For the estimated 5,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, parish participation can be difficult.From homilies to retreats, normal Church events can be inaccessible to those with auditory disabilities, unless specific accommodations are made in advance.Dr. Tomas Garcia Jr., who has been deaf since childhood, knows these challenges well.And now, he’s helping shed light on some of those challenges in his ministry as one of the newest deacons for the archdiocese.Deacon Garcia is the director of ministries at Holy Angels Catholic Church of the Deaf in Vernon, California. In addition, he is an associate professor of American Sign Language at East Los Angeles College.He is also bilingual and as a permanent deacon will be able to reach out to serve other Catholics with auditory disabilities in Los Angeles.“I was born with a hearing loss and progressively began losing more at a rapi...
Los Angeles, Calif., Jun 19, 2016 / 04:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For the estimated 5,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, parish participation can be difficult.
From homilies to retreats, normal Church events can be inaccessible to those with auditory disabilities, unless specific accommodations are made in advance.
Dr. Tomas Garcia Jr., who has been deaf since childhood, knows these challenges well.
And now, he’s helping shed light on some of those challenges in his ministry as one of the newest deacons for the archdiocese.
Deacon Garcia is the director of ministries at Holy Angels Catholic Church of the Deaf in Vernon, California. In addition, he is an associate professor of American Sign Language at East Los Angeles College.
He is also bilingual and as a permanent deacon will be able to reach out to serve other Catholics with auditory disabilities in Los Angeles.
“I was born with a hearing loss and progressively began losing more at a rapid pace,” he told CNA. “By the time I reached school age, I was profoundly deaf.”
While his family grieved when they learned of his disability, Deacon Garcia believes it brought them all closer to God.
At eight years old, Deacon Garcia attended Bible study classes with his grandmother.
“I always thought she was also taking me because she wanted me to recover from my hearing loss,” he said.
“Eventually, I realized she saw that I had the call.”
That call was fulfilled on June 11, when Archbishop José H. Gomez ordained Garcia and 12 other men to the deaconate.
“The deacon is service sacramentalized,” said Dr. William J, Shaules, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ associate coordinator for diaconate formation.
“Deacon Garcia and his wife have heightened our awareness of service to the deaf community. Not only what it means, but what it actually looks like.”
Deacon Garcia interprets the liturgy in American Sign Language, Spanish, and English for parishioners. Before his ordination, he interpreted for priests during workshops, blessings, and retreats.
Holy Angels Catholic Church of the Deaf works to serve the needs of those with auditory disabilities. Latinos make up 95 percent of its parishioners. Most of these families are monolingual speakers of Spanish.
The parish is one of the few places Spanish-speaking parents and their deaf children can go to Mass together and all understand the liturgy.
“There’s a great need for the deaf faithful to experience the Sacraments in their own language,” Deacon Garcia said.
He recalled going to a youth retreat at the parish when he was in high school. Before attending, he could only follow the liturgy by reading the Roman Missal. When he saw two priests at the retreat sign with American Sign Language, he said, “I could laugh and cry, and truly feel as I belong to this community we call the Body of Christ.”
Though a parish may have a sign language interpreter during the Mass, Deacon Garcia said, “at Holy Angels Catholic Church of the Deaf, everyone signs.”
“The deaf feel at home and they can form loving, lasting relationships with members of their community through a common language.”
In 2005, Deacon Garcia received his first cochlear implant and in 2010, his second. He made it a point, “to participate in the Spanish track and to try to do so without an interpreter.”
Eventually, Deacon Garcia learned to participate in a Spanish program and not rely on an interpreter. He is now able to help parishioners feel more comfortable receiving some of the sacraments in American Sign Language or Spanish.
The parish also streams the Liturgy of the Word online, to accommodate people in the archdiocese and around the nation.
Pope Francis drew attention to persons with disabilities at the Vatican’s recent Jubilee for the Sick and Disabled, held June 9-12.
“People with disabilities are a gift for the family and an opportunity to grow in love, mutual aid and unity,” the Pope tweeted for the occasion.
Deacon Garcia said the Pope’s jubilee was “a powerful testament to remind ourselves of the need to reach out and ‘encounter’ those on the margin of society, or even, at the margin of our parishes.”
He explained that many of those who are deaf have not seen God’s mercy and grace made visible; many struggle with their deaf identity; and many experience discrimination in all forms.
“These people,” he said, “need to be comforted, healed and strengthened by the Eucharist…something that can happen if people reach out to them and invite them into the Father’s home.”
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A delegation from the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the umbrella body of the bishops’ conferences of Africa has issued a statement following a recent solidarity visit to Burundi.Following discussions with the local bishops and government officials during the June 9-12th visit, the delegation appealed for peace in the central African nation that has been in a state of violent political conflict since April last year.The SECAM message appealed to the Government of Burundi to recognize that people make up the political community and it should involve all parties in stabilizing the country for the common good. The African bishops called on the country’s leaders to think about the indignity of persons living in refugee camps and urged them to find ways to bring them back home.The delegation further appealed to the bishops, together with the leaders of Burundi to “ensure inclusive participation of citizens in the peace proce...
A delegation from the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the umbrella body of the bishops’ conferences of Africa has issued a statement following a recent solidarity visit to Burundi.
Following discussions with the local bishops and government officials during the June 9-12th visit, the delegation appealed for peace in the central African nation that has been in a state of violent political conflict since April last year.
The SECAM message appealed to the Government of Burundi to recognize that people make up the political community and it should involve all parties in stabilizing the country for the common good. The African bishops called on the country’s leaders to think about the indignity of persons living in refugee camps and urged them to find ways to bring them back home.
The delegation further appealed to the bishops, together with the leaders of Burundi to “ensure inclusive participation of citizens in the peace process and address all grievances peacefully in a way that maintains stability.”
The delegation was led by Rt. Rev. Sithembele Anton Sipuka of Umtata Diocese, South Africa, who is a member of the standing committee of SECAM. It included representatives from the regional bishops conference of eastern Africa AMECEA and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference SACBC.
The statement further said, African experiences show that conflict resolutions and peace-building can bear good fruits if people from all walks of life and creed and civil society participate fully in the process.
The statement continued: "Thus, we encourage that in peace process, all Christians bear the responsibility to move that first steps. Only a true commitment involving all the church can make this path growing."
Below is the full message
SECAM MESSAGE AT THE END OF SOLIDARITY VISIT TO THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF BURUNDI
“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” Amos 3:3
Our Dear Brothers and Sisters of Burundi,
Peace of Christ be upon you
In recognition of our common call to serve God and our neighbor, we, the leaders of the Catholic Church from different corners of Africa, have come to express our solidarity with you in these trying times. We are alive to the fact that solutions to the prevailing challenges can be found among the people of Burundi, in line with the principle of subsidiarity. It is not our mission to dictate to you on a way forward but we are here to listen, to see for ourselves and to feel what you have been going through. Regrettably, once again within the African continent, a current political situation has resulted in the loss of human life, injury and disruption of day-to-day life. To those who have lost their loved ones, you are in our prayers and thoughts. We appreciate that an injury to one, is an injury to all. We are connected as Christians and Africans. Whatever destabilizes Burundi, makes the region not to be at peace, it makes Africa not to be at peace. In light of what we have richly gained here in the last two (2) days, we would wish to state the following:
1. First we begin by expressing our gratitude to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Burundi for availing this opportunity to host us during their meeting. In our observation, Burundi is a beautiful country with people whose hearts yearn for peace, political, social and economic stability. It is out of this realization that we would like to express our communion during the times of your sadness and joy.
2. We appreciate and give our gratitude to the Government of Burundi for facilitating our entry process to the country. This has given us an opportunity to dialogue with the Bishops and the people of Burundi and heard for ourselves on the greater need to forge forward with the peace process, and the importance of collaboration to maintain sustainable peace. Peace will surely benefit everyone in the country and the African continent at large.
3. We are aware of the pain of Burundi. The experiences in this country of political instability. The pain we feel is further deepened by the loss of life and properties and the sufferings that the people of Burundi have undergone, and are still going through. We do recognize the efforts of the many of Burundians who are for peace. We believe that the people (both clergy and persons of goodwill) who have come here before us, the efforts of the African Union (AU), the discussions going on in Arusha under the umbrella of East African Community (EAC) and most importantly the grace of God, have stemmed a potentially more violent scenario. It is our sincere and honest appreciation to the Pastors and the people of Burundi for choosing the non-violent approach. We pray that God’s grace continues guiding the discussions for peace in Burundi.
4. The church in Africa is proud of the richness of its legacy to win the temptation of succumbing into partisan politics, and the commitment for non-violence actions regardless of success or failure. The success of experiencing the calm within the country and communities does not mean peace has come; on the contrary there is a need that after a conflict or instability, people need to be healed and reconciled. For this the effort has to be exerted from within, but in solidarity of prayer from your brothers and sisters in the continent for sustainable peace.
5. To strengthening the progress of peace-building in the country, we feel that we need to do more and stand on your side, while echoing the encouraging words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, “Do not be Afraid”, during his visit to the continent. To sustain the process of peace and return the peace that the people of Burundi have cherished before the unfolding of the incident a year ago, we appeal to the Government of Burundi with your support to:
a. Recognize that people make up the political community and should also practice the sense of belonging to the very notion of the making of that institute, which is for respect and preservation of the common good,
b. Bring on board all the parties involved. The common good is guaranteed when, persons participate in the concerns of the nation.
c. Think about the indignity of persons living in refugee camps. We urge you to find ways to bring back all those who are in refugee camps to their home so that they can be dignified.
Our appeal to you together with the leaders of Burundi, is to ensure inclusive participation of citizens in the peace process and address all grievances peacefully in a way that maintains stability.
To the Pastors/Bishops of Burundi, we say unto you:
d. African experiences show that conflict resolutions and peace-building by participating communities from all walks of life and creed, and turning civil society into the protagonists of the processes results in good yield. Thus, we encourage that in peace process, all Christians bear the responsibility to move that first steps. Only a true commitment involving all the church can make this path growing.
e. Remember that God gives the human kind the task to move the first step; He then decides where to allow the final steps. That God expresses a strong and explicit preferential option for non-violence, emphasizing reconciliation as a tool to resolve conflicts between nations and people. We appeal therefore, to the people of Burundi, to engage and participate fully in peace process, by showing a genuine collaboration with your leaders and pastors.
f. We encourage the peace processes that have commenced under the East African Community (EAC) and the other initiatives under the AU Commissions. We appeal to the leadership of these two processes (EAC and AU) to continue supporting dialogue to bring about reconciliation to the people of Burundi, to allow them to engage in development initiatives to foster the progress of the nation. We will walk with you as this dialogue continues to take place.
6. We also take this moment to condemn those negative external influences that have not only been interfering with Burundi but also with other countries in the region and in Africa. We say NO to the ongoing arms trade that is being utilized to cause violence in African countries. We seek the intervention of the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations; in putting more pressure and measures to curb proliferation of small arms in countries experiencing heightened political differences. And to our African Brothers and Sisters, let us silence the war cries, let us stop the tears of our mothers, let is stop the bleeding of our continent.
7. In conclusion, as we have prayed together. We ask this wonderful nation to continue praying together for God’s continued providence and most importantly for peace. We urge all the people of Burundi to remember that within you and in you exist the solutions to the problems in this country. We assure you that what we have learnt here is not going to end here. We will carry it forward in solidarity with our Brother Bishops until all the people of Burundi live as one in peace.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:28
Thank you and God bless
Rt. Rev. Sithembele Anton Sipuka
Bishop of Umtata
Head of SECAM Delegation
Date: 12th June 2016 Bujumbura, Burundi
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