One testimony at the Sydney Archdiocese’s Synod earlier this month highlighted the need for greater accessibility for Catholics who are too often overlooked. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Donovan Mulligan, manager of pastoral care at the Ephpheta Centre, addressed the Sydney Synod and candidly spoke about the challenges deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics face in accessing the sacraments and participating in the life of the Church.
Speaking to The Catholic Weekly in the days after the Synod, he said it had been important to “share the experience of a deaf Catholic person and wanted people to think about access to reconciliation”.
Recounting a recent visit to a confessional, he was confronted by barriers many hearing Catholics wouldn’t consider.
Unable to hear through the screen, he had to open the curtain slightly to see the priest’s face and lip-read what was being said – giving the priest a “rude shock”.
“I had to gesture to him, ‘I’m deaf, I’m deaf’,” Mr Mulligan said.
“Then I had to use my voice and hope the priest could understand me. So I did use my voice during confession and hopefully the priest did understand me.
“At the end of the day, I know God is listening to me anyway.”
When it came time for penance, Mr Mulligan “had to say to him I need you to turn your face to look at me so I can read your lips”.
“But just leaving there, really made me think, wow, there’s a lot of deaf people, especially in rural areas and they need help and access.”
After sharing his testimony, several Synod members approached Mr Mulligan to thank him, admitting they had never previously considered the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics.
“I thought it was really important for me to be there, to share that message, to make sure that the Church can be accessible to everyone,” he told The Catholic Weekly.
Working quietly for decades to bridge that gap is the Ephpheta Centre, the Catholic ministry serving deaf and hard-of-hearing people across the Sydney Archdiocese and the Parramatta and Broken Bay dioceses.
Ephpheta Centre business manager Liz McDowell said it was established in 1979 “after many deaf Catholics left school and found themselves unable to access Mass, Reconciliation and other sacraments in parish life”.
Today, nearly 50 years later, the Ephpheta Centre continues to provide accessible liturgies, pastoral care and sacramental preparation for deaf and hard of hearing Catholics throughout New South Wales, to ensure they are not excluded from key moments of faith and family life.
FULL STORY
Synod highlights faith beyond barriers (By Christina Guzman, The Catholic Weekly)
