This afternoon, Pope Benedict met with about fifty young people with disabilities and their caregivers in the chapel of Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York.
Upon arriving, the Holy Father was welcomed by Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York, and Bishop Gerald Walsh, the rector of the seminary. The Holy Father greeted and blessed each child individually. The young people presented the Holy Father with a drawing done by a young man named Greg. Greg is cared for at Incarnation Children’s Center, an agency of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.
The Archdiocesan Deaf Choir led the hymn, “Take, Lord, Receive.”
Pope Benedict spoke briefly, reminding the young people that their lives are a sign of hope. He asked them to pray for the needs of the world and, especially, to pray for him.
The Holy Father offered his apostolic blessing and then departed for the youth rally on the seminary field.
The complete text of the Holy Father’s address is here.
Meeting with Young People with Disabilities
April 19, 2008 by usccbdigitalmedia
The words of Pope Benedict XVI remind us that God loves and values all humans: whether able-bodied or with severe mental, physical, or emotional impairments. As St. Paul explained, all members have a function in the Body of Our Lord.
(Excerpts from I Corinthians 12: 18 & 22, in The Jerusalem Bible)
“…God put all the separate parts in the body on purpose.”
“What is more, it is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones…”
With similar concerns, the late Pope John Paul II promoted respect for those humans in reduced states of consciousness. Please see the article written by Susan Brinkmann a few years ago titled “The Vatican and Science agree: Cognitively disabled can recover”
All individuals are created in the image of God.
Edwin Cooper, MD