The Conference was attended by over 500 delegates from all over the country and abroad belonging to various Christian denominations. The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) was represented by 53 delegates from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Bishop Theodore was invited as one of the inaugural speakers along with Rt. Rev. Dr. George Stephen, the bishop of CSI Diocese of Madras and Rev. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary of NCCI.
Bishop George Stephen of the CSI Diocese of Madras exhorted the participants that the context of disability calls us to overcome hostility and insensitivity towards the persons with disabilities (PwDs); to learn, understand and affirm the image of God in them; affirm equal rights, respect and dignity of all persons. Rev. Roger Gaikwad emphasized that Disability Inclusion focuses on accessibility (functional, attitudinal and information – communication technology barriers), theological discourse (engaging, promoting and building body of knowledge on Indian disability theological discourse but through grassroots engagement) and networking.
Bishop Theodore reiterated that the Christian Church is the leader in engaging disability in India. He highlighted the need of all Churches marching together in favour of the poor, the underprivileged and those deprived sections, including the persons with disabilities. He reminded the participants that the real disabled is the one who does not have compassion in his/her heart. In this respect, ‘being disabled’ is not being able to see, not being able to hear, not being able to walk. The real disability is not having compassion, that we do not have mercy, that we do not have time and love for the feeling for the other. We have to admit that the Church is not doing much for the persons with the disabilities. We the Church should be at their side. Jesus was among the deaf, dump and crippled but instilling hope among them. The Churches together as a community need to be with them, instilling the hope and courage for them to move forward. There are prime examples in front of us, like Helen Keller, who in spite of their disabilities done the marvellous, perhaps than anyone - the so called ‘abled’. To accomplish this and to take the ‘Engage Disability’ movement forward, we need much better networking among us the Churches. Much more than talking, we must be able to work together. Together we must be able to mobilize support from and complement the works of the Govt. for the persons with disabilities.
