Parish Advocate Program
Gene Chianelli, Parish Advocate at the Church of the Resurrection in Moneta, with his wife, Emily, and his service dog, Guinness. The Parish Advocacy Program resulted from the 1978 Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities. In this document, the Bishops recognized that "it is not merely enough to affirm the rights of people with disabilities. The Church must become "an advocate for and with people with disabilities" and "it must work to increase the public's sensitivity toward (their) needs and support their rightful demand for justice."
A Parish Advocate is someone who acts on behalf of people with disabilities to ensure that all are invited to share in the life of their parish. The Parish Advocate is invited to accept this responsibility by the pastor of the parish. The Advocate follows the example of Christ the Good Shepherd and seeks out parishioners who have disabilities to determine their physical and spiritual needs.
In our diocese, the Parish Advocate Network was established in 2006. Many of our Parish Advocates have a disability and or have a family member with a disability. However, many more of our Parish Advocates have felt a calling to helping their brothers and sisters with disabilities.
Parish Advocate Resources
- 2007 Disability Resource Book (PDF; 2 MB)
- Parish Advocate job description (PDF; 8 KB)
- Parish Advocate registration form (PDF; 4 KB)
- Listing of Parish Advocates