Sydney: As the world marks the International Day of People with Disabilities under the theme “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress,” the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) is deepening its commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities are fully welcomed and involved in the life of the Church.
To honour the day, the ACBC’s Disability Projects Office is hosting a “listening day” in the Diocese of Parramatta a dedicated forum designed to hear firsthand from people with lived experience of disability. The event is part of a growing national effort to reshape pastoral practice through dialogue, collaboration, and synodality.
Disability projects officer Dr Adam Hughes Henry said the listening day is a pilot initiative emerging from the Catholic Accessibility Forum, a nationwide online community of advocates, experts, and individuals with lived experience.
“The forum brings together voices from across Australia who are committed to ensuring people with disabilities are fully included in the life and mission of the Church,” Dr Henry explained. The network operates under the guidance of the Disability Projects Office.
Townsville recently hosted one such listening day, chaired by Bishop Tim Harris, who leads the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service. He said the experience made it clear that listening alone is not enough genuine collaboration is essential.
“At the listening day in Townsville, it became clearer how important it is for the Church to not only listen to those with disabilities but to collaborate with them,” Bishop Harris said.
“Sometimes misunderstandings occur and this creates great hurt. People with disabilities can feel ostracised, unwelcome, or even like a burden. This is intolerable we must do better as a Church to be attentive to them.”
Dr Henry said the listening day model is inspired by the Church’s synodal path, offering a space that is informal, hospitable, and continuous. These gatherings, held in Brisbane, Broken Bay, Adelaide, Townsville, and now Parramatta, serve as a platform for people with disabilities to lead cultural, social, and spiritual renewal.
“We should not only be talking the talk, but walking the walk,” he said. “These sessions have shown that while much progress is needed especially in co-design with those who live with disabilities there is also great enthusiasm for building a more inclusive and synodal Church community.”
The initiative resonates deeply with the message of Pope Francis, who wrote in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti: “We cannot be indifferent to suffering; we cannot allow anyone to go through life as an outcast. Instead, we should feel indignant, challenged to emerge from our comfortable isolation and to be changed by our contact with human suffering. That is the meaning of dignity.”
As the Church in Australia marks this international day, the listening day in Parramatta stands as a practical step toward living that call ensuring that every person, regardless of ability, experiences genuine belonging and dignity within the faith community.