23rd Sunday in ordinary time : not just a dreamer

Abstract

Over the past two weeks the hashtag #wethe15 was drawing lots of interest on social media. WeThe15 coalition, which was launched to coincide with the Tokyo Paralympic Games that end today, seeks to change attitudes, end discrimination, and offer better opportunities of inclusion to people with disability, which make up 15 per cent of the world population. Even watching a few minutes of the Paralympic Games are enough to lead one to acknowledge that this change is hard but not impossible. One of the rising stars of this year’s Paralympics is 17-year-old Anastasia Pagonis, who lost her sight three years ago. Yet this did not stop her from winning a gold medal in swimming. Bebe Vio, a wheelchair fencer from Italy, burst in cries of jubilation at the end of the match that won her the second gold medal – after the first one she had secured at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Given the opportunity and the right environment, these people, and many others with disabilities, including those who do not make it to the Paralympics, can reach their full potential.