Disbled Ministers

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I agree with MrZoom.

Talk to your pastor about it. I am also chair mobile and am an EMHC and as long as your pastor is comfortable with minor adjustments, it shouldnt be a problem

Someone mentioned the possibility that people would be focusing more on the chair than the scriptures being read? I guess it’s possible, but in today’s day and age, most people get past the chair pretty quick.

And if anything, it has been my experience, that the Lord uses that powerful visual to inspire and touch the hearts of other to get involved in the parish community.

Never underestimate what the Lord chooses to use to touch His people and soften their hearts. 😉
 
1ke said:
**This is really a case in which the OP needs to get factual information from his diocese on the parish obligations, not opinions off the internet.
**
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Best advice, indeed. 🙂
 
tngail said:
This breaks my heart. Are we not all equal in the eyes of God, who created us.🤷
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Yes, dear one, we are. :hug1:

I served as a member of the Diocesan Committee for Persons with Disabilities for two years in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The Bishop there is really amazing and has pulled wonderful, loving people around him to serve the Church in Utah. Each year there is a mass at which all readers and ministers have some challenge, physical or otherwise. We provided refreshments afterwards, remembering all the special diet needs. If the reader could get to the ambo, fine. If not, a space was set up that was obviously set aside for the worthy purpose of proclaiming the word of God. [One year the blind first reader *and her dog, read from such a place] :clapping:

Another purpose we had was to educate Catholics, starting with priests, about all the ways accommodations could be made to ensure fuller and fuller participation. There is lots of material available. :bounce::yup:
 
I can’t believe anyone would even question whether or not a disabled person is qualified to read the Sacred Scriptures at Sunday Mass. At the church I attend there is a lector in a wheelchair with no arms or legs. There is a ramp leading up to the sanctuary, and the microphone is lowered to accommodate him. Just seeing this man hold the book and turn the pages with no arms is a blessing for the whole congregation. Jesus would never discriminate on the basis of disability. Just read the Gospels. Shame on anyone who would think otherwise!
 
Church rules are meant to be flexible where the dignity of an individual is at stake. For a Lector who needs a wheel chair, I’m sure something could be easily worked out. For instance, before mass if no ramp were available, he could be aided by being lifted up the stairs before mass begins. I know several elderly lectors who do not participate in the procession, so it shouldn’t be an issue for him simply start off mass near in sanctuary.

A local Knights of Columbus council could then be asked to build a discrete temporary ramp in the short term and a mobile mic could be provided so that the lector could reach it.
 
It’s one of those “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” reminders that Christ gave to the scribes and Pharisees.

There are also portable ramps that fold that can be utlilzed as well.
 
runningdude said:
Church rules are meant to be flexible where the dignity of an individual is at stake. For a Lector who needs a wheel chair, I’m sure something could be easily worked out. For instance, before mass if no ramp were available, he could be aided by being lifted up the stairs before mass begins. I know several elderly lectors who do not participate in the procession, so it shouldn’t be an issue for him simply start off mass near in sanctuary.

A local Knights of Columbus council could then be asked to build a discrete temporary ramp in the short term and a mobile mic could be provided so that the lector could reach it.
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It comes down to common sense guided by God’s grace. If a qualified, handicapped reader was not able to use the ambo or even enter the sanctuary there is no reason why they couldn’t read at a Mass. Everyone present can work together to make the situation as best as possible no matter how some individuals interpret GIRM #58.

This would be a far cry from a priest doing a “Phil Donohue” and sitting in the pews while proclaiming the Gospel or preaching. That is why GIRM #58 exists – to quell such behavior. Some people just don’t realize the difference and they add to the problem with their “liturgical abuse score keeping.”
 
why not since he has a calling to that Ministry he should be given an opportunity
 
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