Vatican message: the Church proclaims Christian hope to those with autism

April 04, 2016

The Church proclaims hope to those with autism and their families, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, said in a message published on April 2.

“In a time in which often we struggle to find reasons to hope, and especially when faced with problems linked to autistic spectrum disorders, that are often not easily diagnosed and also, especially in families, not easily accepted without shame or retreating into solitude, we are called to place our trust in God,” Archbishop Zimowski wrote in his message for World Autism Awareness Day.

“Although by definition hope looks to the future, it is rooted in the today of God, Who loves us and seeks us tirelessly,” he continued. “God is boundless goodness and benevolence; He cares for His children and never abandons those whom He has called to enter into His communion, whatever difficulties there may be.”

Archbishop Zimowski concluded with a call for “the acceptance and inclusion of autistic people and their families, in the certainty that in this way we will be witnesses of authentic and joyful hope in the Church and in the world.”

 

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Further information:

• Messaggio del Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per gli Operatori Sanitari (per la Pastorale della Salute) in occasione della Giornata Mondiale sull’Autismo (2 aprile 2016), 02.04.2016 (Holy See Press Office)
• Message for World Autism Awareness Day: the need for joint effort, 02.04.2016 (Holy See Press Office)