A espiritualidade para a comunidade surda na Igreja Católica

Abstract

This research presents a section of the history of deaf people, seeking to consider different contexts of the religious experience of the faith community and, from this place, propose a Catholic spirituality for these people. The research has the general objective of identifying how deaf people feel about God and how the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAR) provides accessible spaces for this experience. As specific objectives, intends to investigate and recognize their struggles and forms of communication and expression of their spirituality; indicate the appropriate way of inclusion accessible to the deaf community in Christian worship. Sought to consider the researcher's coexistence with the deaf community, as a starting point for the research, articulating dialogues in order to indicate to the Catholic Church ways of accessibility and care in shepherding its deaf people, as Jesus the Good Shepherd did. The methodological procedures are the theoretical dialogue between theology and social sciences, especially with Franciscan-Clarian and Latin American theology. A qualitative approach to bibliographic findings about themes relating to deaf spirituality was developed and the analysis was carried out in an exploratory manner, through search, research and analysis of events and historical facts on the topic in question at ICAR. Describes, during the trajectory, care and practices of coexistence and teaching since medieval monasticism and the achievements of the deaf community in different social and educational areas are described, pointing out that at ICAR these achievements are possible, as well as the meanings of identity, deaf community and culture, fundamental to understanding their spirituality.