Voices of Synod 2018 | Christina DiSalvo

Christina DiSalvo works alongside people who are deaf and those living with disability to empower them to share their gifts and talents — and she wants the Church to include this group of people in conversations moving forward.

Video Transcript

Christina DiSalvo: People who are deaf and people with disabilities cannot be separate from the Church. The Church cannot move forward with these kinds of conversations without this part of the community that we’re supporting. They have to be included. They are an integral part. We cannot have the Church without them.

In other parts of the world, we see how there are people who need to fight for their beliefs and still fight for their rights. And deaf people do that every day, even in the secular world.

That word, “empowerment,” really is very strong for me. Because that’s really the whole mission of my department where I work. To show the gifts and the talents of people living with disabilities and people who are deaf. So, what I want to do is empower those people, to show their own gifts, their own talents.