Slovakia, Bratislava 2024, will host the 5th European Meeting of Catholic deaf people 

Interviews

Miguel Ángel García: "If the Church is open to all, why not the deaf?"

The Spanish presides over the Deaf Catholics of Europe, which will hold its next Congress in Bratislava from June 20 to 24, 2024

From June 20 to 24, the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, will host the 5th European Meeting of Catholic deaf people, organized by the entity that groups them, Deaf Catholics of Europe. At the head of this movement is the Spanish Miguel Ángel García, who shares with new life some of the concerns in the face of the appointment that will bring together the lay people, priests, deacons and religious from 14 European countries following the wake that left the previous meeting held in Germany.The objective of these meetings focuses on the creation of a Christian community in which the deaf have an important place, in addition to evangelization through a language such as European signs, or the establishment of new delegations.

Question- facing the 5th European Meeting of Catholic deaf people, what is the proposal that is being prepared for Bratislava?

Answer- It is an encounter that hopes to bring deaf people to talk about problems and deficiencies regarding evangelization. There will be debate on the language of official sign of the official religion or the communication relationship between listening priests and deaf people. Technology elements will also be presented on how to teach or evangelize visually (subtitles and/or interpreters) for people with deafness difficulty. Among the proposed activities, is the celebration of a Eucharist in the presence of the archbishop of the diocese in which the deaf present in the city is invited to go.

Pastoral experiences:

Q.- What is the path that has been traveled since Deaf Catholics of Europe?

A.- God put this seed since 2015, gathered for the first time in Rome, from there we have continued to find for God's call.It has been a path that we have traveled thanks to the Holy Spirit that unites us all the deaf and deafblinds throughout Europe when Pope Francis could recognize the identity of deaf and listeners, our language, our culture, our dioceses and the pastoral experiences that There are currently ...

Q.- How is the evangelization that is raised from this group?

A.- Its only objective is to include the deaf people of the Universal Church. If the church is open to all, why not the deaf? What are the media: talk to the diocese of each country, comment and solve problems surrounding day by day, collaborate inside and outside each country. We cannot forget that Jesus in the Gospel says: "ID and announce everyone." Keep in mind that there are no gender differences, or physical, sensory and intellectual disability, or cultural, social origin ...

Break the incommunication:

Q.- Francisco has reiterated that the Church is "open to all, all, all", what barriers should some deaf people still overcome?

A.- Any priest, deacon, bishops, laity, etc ... within the diocese is a server of God, so his mission is to break limitation of communication with the deaf. As? Learn to speak with a language of signs, to know the culture of deaf ... remembering that the Universal Catholic Church always leaves the doors open to everyone.

Q.- As head of Deaf Catholics of Europe, what is your own personal history?

A.- They have chosen me as responsible in 2017, and I have realized that there are missing means, administrative resources ... and it is necessary that the different European dioceses feel and talk directly with those responsible for Deaf Catholics of Europe to recognize us .

Q.- What challenges can leave the next congress for this specific pastoral?

A.- Our desire for this The European Congress is to expect definitive results for this European Pastoral, after that we will explain what challenges we will do and news we will mark for the future. Then, within two years, there will be another European encounter of Catholic deaf and we are pending the raffle for the next headquarters. The Virgin Mary will tell us!