Catholic Church + Deaf Accessibility

With Easter last Sunday, I have been thinking about my childhood memories of going to the church and the traditional Easter gatherings with my family. I grew up Catholic, even attended Sunday school up until 4th grade. 

On Instagram, I saw a post sharing that only 2% of Deaf people know Jesus Christ. There are approximately 400+ million of Deaf people worldwide. Honestly, that post didn’t surprise me. It took me back down memory lane of growing up in the Catholic Church and the accessibility issues that I had. 

My mom was the sole interpreter for the Church masses. Of course, she would be standing next to me, and she couldn’t interpret EVERY single word.  Adding to this we were seated in the back and not all of the speakers were clearly for people sitting that far away. I also have to be transparent, I was a child/teen at same time so yes, there were times when I didn’t always listen out of boredom. 

St. Patrick’s Church - Dublin, Ireland - 2015.

Sunday school was a hour long of religious education based on grade levels. I was among peers my age/grade. I remember every morning we all started school by standing in the lobby reciting ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. The only memory I have from this, is how I would use this time to people-watch. I had a volunteer interpreter who helped me out in the classroom. I recall that she knew some basic ASL but she wasn’t certified. We had our own corner of the table, while other kids sat in groups. I attended for a few years and don’t recall any friends that I made, likely because I was isolated in the corner. I don’t have a clear memory of why I stopped attending, but I believe that my parents saw that I wasn’t getting an education out of Sunday school. 

I also stopped attending church weekly (we went every Sunday). I only went for special occasions such as Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc. It didn’t bother me that I was missing out, I was actually relieved. That continued through my college years until the last year. I got curious and tried to find a Catholic Church in Rochester, NY that would have an interpreter. Rochester, NY is home of the largest Deaf community. I couldn’t find any, or maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places. I had a close friend who was going to a Baptist church she brought me to some events. I met other Deaf Christians. I went to a Bible meeting, it was conducted in ASL. They discussed, shared thoughts, prayed, etc. I went to a few masses where they had an interpreter for the Deaf section (approximately 20 people). The church even had a blow up screen that was focused on the interpreter for people in the back to see. It was very accessible. As much I wanted to have that, I didn’t have connection with the Baptist beliefs as I am Catholic. 

I didn’t look into the church again until I moved to Connecticut. One year I was thinking about how I wish I had a better understanding of the religion that I was raised in. Especially more so after I was married and talking about having kids. I thought long and hard how our future kids would learn about being Catholic when I wasn’t confident in knowing the religion that well myself. I decided to email several of local Catholic Churches around the area asking if they were willing to hire interpreters. I received ZERO replies. 

Kylemore Abbey - Connemara, Ireland - 2017.

After a while, I felt desperate. I emailed them again and asked if they had any parishioners who knew ASL and would volunteer their time to help me during the masses. Again, ZERO replies. I contacted two different Dioceses (a region of Catholic Churches that is ran under a bishop). There was a church locally in Norwich/Preston (20-25 minutes away) that had an interpreter right before I moved to the area. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough Deaf participants to keep the interpreter. They were nice enough to email other Dioceses and tried to find a solution for me. 

A few years later, I found a couple of Roman Catholic Churches with interpreted masses that were in Providence, Rhode Island which would be a hour and half commute from where I lived. I didn’t feel committed to making that drive weekly. Especially if I was alone. I dropped the ball on this as I didn’t see it as a priority. 

During the pandemic, what a game changer! I was able to live stream masses, there was even a Deaf priest in Boston, MA. I was amazed to watch several masses where the ENTIRE THING WAS IN SIGN LANGUAGE. I didn’t think I’d find a Deaf priest as I had been focused on interpreted masses. It was really cool to watch that. I was so excited about finding this access and I finally was learning a bit. Unfortunately, the live streaming didn’t last long as they returned to in-person masses. I was really disappointed.

Black Abbey - Kilkenny, Ireland - 2015.

I am currently in an interfaith household. Before we got married, I attended some of the Deaf Hillel club events in college. The Rabbi who ran the Deaf Hillel was also the Rabbi who married us. The events were all signed in ASL. I recall bringing my then-boyfriend (now husband) to Passover dinner. Everyone signed. I learned so much about Passover and its meaning because the Rabbi signed the entire time. I felt guilt sometimes because I felt like I knew a LOT about the Jewish religion more than Catholic. All it took was having accessibility!

It’s always frustrating to have limited accessibility. It also doesn’t help when the religion itself is so complex. Even within the same religion, people have different beliefs and ideologists. There are so MANY types of religion, yet ZERO access for us. Many Deaf people don’t know religion. I felt like it was something important because a huge part of my childhood revolved around growing up in the Catholic Church. 

It took a long time for me to stop feeling guilty for something that is out of my control (lack of accessibility). I had been so focused on finding the accessibility that I forgot to spiritually connect in my own time. There had been few years when I didn’t feel like I was Catholic. I realized that I don’t need to be in a church to proof that I’m Catholic. I’ll continue to believe in what I know already and spiritually connect in my own way. Hopefully someday I can walk in a Catholic Church and have the accessibility provided as it should be for everyone. 

St. Mary’s Cathedral - Killarney, Ireland - 2015