Towards inclusive parishes : how do Maltese Catholic communities sustain the spiritual journey of disabled persons?

Abstract

Diverse studies have brought forth the positive effect that religion and spirituality have on the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals and how disabled persons have come to terms with their impairments on the back of their religious beliefs (Johnstone, Glass & Oliver, 2007; Selway & Ashman, 1998). Numerous narratives have also been published wherein disabled persons talk extensively about their struggles and ongoing relationships with their religion (Coggins, 2017; Hume-Dawson, 2017; Mairs, 1993). Yet locally, no research has been undertaken to study how disabled persons reconcile their religious belief with their daily reality within the parish community. This study is a step in that direction. Malta is a predominantly Catholic country, where the Church has undoubtedly been at the forefront of institutional care for disabled persons. On the other hand, reviewing the themes found in contemporary literature with relation to disability and the Church, it emerges that disabled persons feel that, in general, they been left marginalised by faith communities. Embracing emancipatory disability research principles while adopting an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009), this study set out to answer the question as to whether disabled persons feel that they are welcome within their local parish communities. The data was gathered through in-depth interviews with five individuals who have physical or sensory impairments and who are in the midtwenties to mid-forties age bracket. Through the interpretation of this data, the goal was to arrive at what it means for the participants to live their faith within their parish community. Three main themes emerged as recurring between all participants: disabled persons are seen as objects of pity, as opposed to full members of the community who have a lot of qualities to offer – they are talked about but not listened to; barriers to accessibility - be they physical, attitudinal or relating to communication - denote a Church that is discordant with Christ’s teaching and therefore lacks authenticity; lack of true friendship - perhaps as a result of the fear of the unknown – hinders their true participation within the community. On the other hand, for those participants who were accepted as equal members of the community right from their formative years, the experience has been very enriching, proving to be fruitful even to the community itself.