Blindness is not a curse to be broken

Dr. Moira Egan does not relate to Bartimaeus, a blind man who encounters Jesus in Mk 10:46-52 and begs for sight. Moira was born blind, but she has never begged for sight. Why should blindness exempt her from the Kingdom of God? “There’s an assumption that, if any blind person were asked the open-ended question, ‘What do you want?’, ... they would say they want to see,” Moira says. “I think it’s hard for people to believe that isn’t true.”

In a conversation inspired by Pope Francis and his invitation to building a “culture of encounter,” Ricardo da Silva, S.J., welcomes Moira to “Preach” to reflect upon the difficulty of certain scripture passages, how to avoid ableist language, and consider the experiences of people with disabilities.

Moira serves as the director of prestigious awards and graduate fellowships at Pace University in New York City. She also is an active parishioner at The Church of St. Francis Xavier, where she is involved with Ability Xavier. This program not only advocates for justice and understanding for persons with disabilities, but bridges the accessibility gap by providing tangible worship accommodations such as Braille worship aids, auditory assistive headsets for persons with hearing loss, and American Sign Language interpreters.

[Learn more about disability theology—email Gregory Woods to join a private Facebook discussion group.]

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