Spain: Madrid to host national meeting of diocesan directors of disability services

The Disability Division of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelisation, Catechesis and Catechumenate of the Spanish Church has convened the 2nd national meeting of diocesan directors of disability services. The event will take place in Madrid on Saturday, April 13th, to discuss “Tú y yo somos Iglesia” (You and I Are Church), which is the slogan of the campaign launched by the Disability Division to celebrate the International Day of People with Disabilities of last 3rd December. The meeting will begin at 10.30am with the opening speech of mgr. Román Casanova, the bishop leading the “Disability Division”, and Francisco Julián Romero, Director of the Secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelisation, Catechesis and Catechumenate. Two speakers will take the floor in the morning: the first one will be José María López, European Advisor of the Christian Brotherhood of People with Disabilities (Frater), followed by Enrique Alarcón García, former president of Frater Spain, taking part in the Synod on Synodality, who will speak of the importance attached to the issue of disability in the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, held in October 2023.  Many experiences and good practices for inclusion of people with disabilities in the Church will be shared in the afternoon. In preparation to tomorrow’s meeting, early this year the Disability Division had sent a form to the diocesan directors of pastoral services for people with disabilities and for the deaf and dumb, so as to “take stock” of what is already being done and give it proper visibility as from this national meeting.
Valentina Bombelli