Diocese improves service to deaf

Two upcoming events in the Albany Diocese are part of an effort to improve service to Catholics who are deaf and hard-of-hearing:

* a Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, Jan. 24, 5:15 p.m., to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of the hearing impaired; and

* an American Sign Language (ASL) workshop for Catholic interpreters, Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at St. Jude's Church in Wynantskill.

"We hope the Mass will become an annual event," noted Rev. James Clark, chaplain for the Catholic Deaf Ministry of the Diocese and pastor of St. Jude's.

He estimated that there are about 600 families in the Diocese with deaf or hard-of-hearing members.

For the past year, Father Clark has been working with Rev. Ronald D'Souza, a newcomer to the Albany Diocese who has experience in ministry to the deaf, to expand the Diocese's services to those with hearing difficulties. The pair have been advertising their ministry more and working on a website.

Part of the problem, Father Clark explained, is that as people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have been mainstreamed into society, social clubs for the deaf have disappeared. Thus, it can be hard to contact people to let them know where signed Masses are held or how to find religious education for children with hearing problems.

However, the advent of email and T-Mobile devices (allowing wireless internet connections for laptop computers) has made communication between the deaf and hearing easier.

Five parishes currently hold ASL-interpreted liturgies: St. James and St. Vincent's in Albany, St. Madeleine Sophie in Guilderland, St. Paul's in Schenectady and St. Jude's. Several more parishes, including St. Vincent's in Cobleskill, St. Mary's in Glens Falls and Christ the King in Westmere, are working to boost their ministries to persons with hearing impairments.

The special Mass at the Cathedral will be signed by Fathers Clark and D'Souza; people's responses will also be interpreted by an ASL interpreter. A reception will follow.

The ASL interpreter's workshop is specifically geared toward anyone interested in interpreting Catholic liturgies or other events (or those already doing so). Sister Janet Marchesani, OP, from the Archdiocese of New York will lead the workshop, which costs $15 and includes lunch.

According to Father Clark, people don't need to be Registered Interpreters for the Deaf (RIDs) to interpret a Mass; in fact, he said, many parishes start ministries to the deaf and hard-of-hearing by just interpreting the songs used at liturgies, and work from there.

"It's just a matter of learning the language," he said, urging people to attend.

(To learn more about the events or the Catholic Deaf Ministry of the Albany Diocese, call 283-1162 (or 286-2808 for TTY/TDD), email [email protected], or go to http://home.catholicweb.com/deafalbany/.)

(1/22/04)