The life of a Catholic is one of servitude; first, in serving Christ and then, filled with His love, we serve our neighbor. The National Catholic Partnership on Disability – NCPD – takes this charge to heart in a particular way.
NCPD aims to emulate Christ “by working with dioceses, parishes, ministers, and the laity to advance the full and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in the life of the Church and society.” Recognizing that the Church is our home, and persons with disabilities should not feel forgotten, NCPD fulfills a much-needed role within our Church.
Starting in 2024, the Diocese of Allentown joined the three-year pilot program of NCPD, and partakes in monthly mentorship, classes, and formation. Our Diocese is paired in mentorship with the Archdiocese of Kansas City.
Joshua Ruoff, Lead Consultant for Special Needs of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, reflected: “[Our] special needs ministry is still a fairly new and growing ministry within the Archdiocese, so when the opportunity was given to apply as a mentor diocese, it was a no-brainer that we wanted to be a part of this initiative. Not only to share what we have learned but to continue to bring more awareness across our Archdiocese.
“With the recent change in leadership in our local church, it has been the perfect timing for us to take an intentional deep look at how we are doing as a ministry and what we can do to continue to grow and improve.”
NCPD covers important issues like meaningful participation in the Sacraments, as well as ensuring that parishes are accessible to persons with disabilities. There are so many crucial areas that stretch beyond just whether our parishes are accessible.
In addition to training and workshops, NCPD gathers and develops resources (relating to autism, hard of hearing, intellectual disability, mental illness, prenatal, veteran, etc.) and participates in conferences.
Maggie Riggins, Executive Director of Evangelization and Formation and our Diocesan Disability Contact for NCPD, recently attended the NCPD national conference. She shared that the conference, part of the learning experience for leaders, provided training as well as fellowship.
Charleen Katra, Executive Director of NCPD, added: “Participants left energized and well equipped to advance disability ministry in their faith communities…. This three-day conference brought attendees together with over 40 presenters, plus exhibitors, who provided them with new tools and a new network of friends in Christ to accompany them in making parishes everyone's home.”
Riggins said that through the training, she has strategic goals for our own Diocese. “In the past, almost every parish had an advocate. I am hoping to revive the parish advocacy program in the Diocese,” she said. Through such a revival, each parish would have a volunteer advocate, someone who will receive training to be the parish point person for accessibility.
According to the NCPD website: “The parish advocate acts as a liaison between parish staff, persons with disabilities, and the diocesan disability contact as needed to ensure that persons with disabilities have the support they need to actively participate in the life of the Church.”
These goals are already being put into action. In April 2026 the Diocese of Allentown will host a two-day conference with NCPD. It will be open to everyone and anyone interested in this ministry. If you are looking to serve Christ and your neighbor in a beautifully unique and intentional way, this conference may be the answer.
The conference will take place on Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22 at St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield.
Tuesday will focus on parish accessibility and assessment, adaptive catechesis, leveraging resources, and language guidelines.
Wednesday will focus on mental health, mental illness, and suicide through Mental Health First Aid.
For more information, contact Maggie Riggins at [email protected] or 610-871-5200 ext. 2022.
By Ann Burns
