With a smile on his face and his right arm raised in the air, Francis placed his two middle fingers in his palms and signed “I love you.”
Father Mulcrone, who is part of a community that celebrates Mass with the deaf community in Chicago each week, agrees that it is a matter of justice for the church to provide access to the sacraments for Catholics who are deaf.
He laments that few parishes have interpreters available to sign Mass and there are even fewer priests proficient in American Sign Language to hear confessions or anoint the sick.
“We are a pro-life church,” he said. “As a church, we tell parents to bear and raise children who are deaf and or disabled. At the same time, we fail repeatedly to provide for the spiritual care of these children and adults.”
