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Thinking About Disabilities with Justice, Liberation, and Mercy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2013

Mary Jo Iozzio
Mary Jo Iozzio
Affiliation:
Barry University
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Abstract

This essay challenges the various considerations of people with disabilities that have long excluded them from interpersonal relationships beyond those they enjoy among themselves and their families. The Gospel calls for a different stance especially in light of Jesus' outreach to those with disabling conditions of many kinds, as well as in light of the crucifixion which marks Jesus forever with the disabling and disfiguring scars of a scandalous execution. The essay exposes a history of stigma and oppressions from which people with disabilities have suffered and asks where justice and mercy must serve people who have been set apart.

Type
Articles
Information
Horizons , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , Spring 2009 , pp. 32 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © The College Theology Society 2009

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References

1 This mitzvot could be considered the proverbial 11 th Commandment insofar as it follows in this Levitical enumeration of the Decalogue immediately upon the prohibition against the coveting of a neighbor's goods. (All scriptural quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version.)

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4 This estimate is based on a community survey conducted in 2003 by the United States Census Bureau and applies only to non-institutionalized persons. See US Census Bureau, “Detailed Tables,” http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2003_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_caller=geoselect&-state=dt&-format=&-mt_name=ACS_2003_EST_G2000_P058 (accessed April 5, 2009).Google Scholar

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9 E.g., amputation, carpal tunnel syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, acquired brain injuries, multiple chemical sensitivity, and traumatic brain injuries.

10 E.g., developmental articulation disorder, developmental expressive language disorder, developmental receptive language disorder, developmental reading disorder, developmental writing disorder, developmental arithmetic disorder, dyslexia, bi-polar and depression disorders, anxiety disorders (panic, obsessive-compulsive, post-traumatic stress, and phobias), schizophrenia, Asperger Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Tourette syndrome, speech and language disabilities.

11 E.g., Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“Lou Gehrig's disease”, ALS), asthma, arthritis, cancer, chemical dependency, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome/Epstein-Barr virus, epilepsy, fibromylagia, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, lyme disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, polio.

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