When writing about disabilities and disabled people, Pope John XXIII’s encyclical “Pacem in Terris” stresses the innate dignity of all men and women.

“In an ordered and productive community, it is a fundamental principle that every human being is a ‘person.’ ... [One] has rights and duties ... flowing directly and spontaneously from [one’s] very nature. These rights are, therefore, universal, inviolable and inalienable.” “All too often, abortion and post-natal neglect are promoted by arguing that the infant will survive only to suffer a life of pain and deprivation. We find this reasoning appalling. Society’s frequent indifference to the plight of citizens with disabilities is a problem that cries aloud for solutions based on justice and conscience, not violence. All people have a clear duty to do what lies in their power to improve living conditions for people with disabilities, rather than ignoring them or attempting to eliminate them as a burden not worth dealing with” (Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities).

In March 2004 when writing in the Pittsburgh Catholic, I asked for prayer for the soul of an autistic child who died as a result of apparent fear and ignorance when his church congregation “laid hands” on him with such intensity that he suffocated.

I asked for prayer so that no other Christian would feel so scared as to be compelled to participate in any action that might result in the end of a life rather than in the improvement of one.

There are more than 74,000 autistic children in Pennsylvania, many of whom attend our Masses. I know, I see them, I work with them and their families in our community. But many of the families are scared, scared that their son or daughter may suffer what the 8-year-old boy in Milwaukee suffered two years ago.

When I read Mark’s passage, outlined above, I did not see any distinction made between a typical or a disabled child. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them.” So why do some parents seem afraid to include their autistic sons or daughters in sacramental preparation classes?

If people with disabilities are to become equal partners in the Christian community, injustices must be eliminated and ignorance and apathy replaced by increased sensitivity and warm acceptance.

The leaders and the general membership of the church must educate themselves to appreciate fully the contribution people with disabilities can make to the church’s spiritual life. They bring with them a special insight into the meaning of life; for they live, more than the rest of us, perhaps, in the shadow of the cross. And out of their experience they forge virtues like courage, patience, perseverance, compassion and sensitivity that should serve as an inspiration to all Christians.

Our Lady of Grace Parish in Scott Township is beginning sacramental preparation classes for first Communion, reconciliation and confirmation for children with an autism spectrum disorder.

The catechists, local high school students, will be prepared (taught) to work one-on-one with each of these children after first being prepared on the nature of autism by me. Reception of sacraments of potential students may be completed in the spring or may take longer. It is anticipated that Sunday morning classes will begin in Lent. Autistic students (PDD NOS, autism and Asperger’s syndrome) are wanted and are welcomed. High school catechists are also wanted and needed.

Please contact me or Don Fontana, director of religious education at Our Lady of Grace. For more information, call 412-276-0277.

Deacon Sutton is a local child psychologist and deacon at Our Lady of Grace.