Pope Francis suggests referring to different abilities instead of disability

Pope Francis urged people to avoid the word “disabled” and refer to them as people who have “different abilities.”

This invitation was made during an audience held this morning in the Vatican with the representatives of the first G7 “Inclusion and Disability” that took place in Umbria (Italy).

For the Holy Father, this meeting is a “concrete sign of the will to build a more just and inclusive world, “where each person, with their own capabilities, can live fully and contribute to the growth of society.”

“Instead of talking about ‘disability’, let’s talk about different abilities. But everyone has capabilities,” he continued.

As a result of the G7 meeting, the Solfagnano menuwhich promotes, as the Pontiff recalled, “inclusion, accessibility, autonomous life and the appreciation of people”, themes that coincide “with the vision that the Church has on human dignity.”

“Each person is an integral part of the universal family and no one should be a victim of the throwaway culture, no one. This culture generates prejudices and causes harm to society,” he stated.

The Holy Father urged that the inclusion of this type of people “be recognized as a priority by all countries.”

He also urged a change in mentality, while stating that “there is no true human development without the contribution of the most vulnerable.”

He also lamented the throwaway culture aimed especially at the elderly, who are often thrown away “as if they were broken shoes.”

Pope Francis highlighted the difference between true inclusion and what he defined as a “welfare policy,” explaining that it is rather about “justice and respect for their dignity.”

Before the members of the G7, he also highlighted the importance of freeing them from the “chains of prejudice” and insisted that the human person “should never be a means”, but rather “an end.”

A serious form of discrimination, the Pontiff continued, “is excluding someone from the possibility of working.”

He noted that “work is dignity; It is the anointing of dignity. If you exclude the possibility, you take that away. The same can be said about participation in cultural and sporting life: this is an offense to human dignity.”

Furthermore, he stressed that “technology must be used wisely, so that it does not create more inequalities, but rather becomes a means to eliminate them.”

He also asked not to ignore “humanitarian emergencies related to climate crises and conflicts that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable people.”

The work of the G7 is for the Holy Father “a sign of hope for a world that, too often, forgets people with disabilities or, unfortunately, eliminates them before they are born: they see the x-ray and… back to the sender” .

“I urge you to continue on this path, inspired by faith and the conviction that each person is a gift; “Every person is a precious gift to society,” he concluded.