Trouble getting Access to the Catholic Mass when you can't hear it? - Catholics with Hearing Loss: Captioning the Catholic Mass
"Christian witness is a participation in the witness of Christ (CCC 785). "
If you don't have communication access to the Mass, try to see if the priest is open to giving you a hard copy beforehand or a soft copy of the Homily, Universal Prayers, Announcement and blessings via email attachment (assuming the priest is not winging the Homily and changing it in his oral presentation versus the written one prepared ahead of time) . I know in my experiences, most are usually just written guidelines or notes for the speech, and often it is not regularly reliable since priests are busy people and sometimes don't have time to do this, or they forget, or they are not consistent. None the less, if he is not open to that, try to get a Homily off the internet that pertains to that day, and read it before you go to Mass for that particular Sunday or bring it with you and read that while the priest is giving his own homily to the congregation.
I know it is disconnecting not to be able to fully participate or be a part of the community in reflecting on the same Homily together in that moment in real time, or witnessing the connection between Word and Sacrament but at least you don't have to just sit there.
For the rest of the stuff (other than the Homily, Universal Prayers, Announcements and Blessings), it is printed in the Missal to read. See if you can follow along associating sound patterns or track the audio while reading the Missal, or have someone point to the words 'karaoke style' with their fingers so you can follow along with what is in the Missal.
You can't do that of course with the Homily, Universal Prayers, any blessings and announcements because they are not in the Missal. The end of the Mass can be somewhat tricky, as I never know what prayer they are saying since it is not in the Missal. I think it might be the St. Michael Prayer but I can't be sure, as sometimes it seems like they say a prayer both before and after the announcement together but I don't see it in the Missal so I'm not sure which two prayers are being said and in what order. It could be the Hail Mary?
I sure wish the Church would make it accessible for those with hearing loss so they can have access to God's Word. Post ADA, people with wheelchairs have made great progress in making the church accessible for them but those with hearing loss are way behind because the church is exempt from ADA ( except for wheelchair access which is NOT ADA exempt, so accessible parking spaces, ramps, adjusted bathrooms and water fountains are required, but not hearing access).
Folks with hearing loss usually do not have access to the Mass and other parts of church life, if the church does not include the diversity of those with hearing loss in their communication access needs - that being Captioning, Sign Language and Audio Loops. If they don't have these diverse communication access in place, the Mass is not fully accessible to all of them even though they can walk into the door. 90 percent of the deaf and hard of hearing do not know sign language so just having sign language provided at the Mass does not make it accessible to the majority of the deaf and hard of hearing.
While cost might be a factor with CART or Remote CART (remote is cheaper), I think it is reasonable to expect that at least one Mass, at one church, in each Diocese (maybe a couple or so in a larger Diocese) have this in place so that those who can use it, can reasonably travel to an accessible church. Everyone should be able to fully participate at the Mass. It is important to connect to the Mass. Centralizing support for the captioning can offer a solution for many and provide communication access. We don't expect every church to have captioning, but there ought to be at least one or two churches or so within a diocese that folks can go to, and that will help defray the cost involved by designating certain churches for this. Many dioceses hire sign language interpreters that go around and sign the Masses, but most do not offer CART or Remote CART services to do the same, even though the majority of the deaf and hard of hearing do not know sign language. It would be nice if they would hire CART providers and not just sign language providers.
If a church does not have sign language, or CART (or Remote CART), or audio induction loops/FM system, that means it provides NO FULL ACCESS at all for any of the hearing loss/deaf/hard of hearing populations! If a wheelchair user couldn't get inside the church, would that bother you? Of course it would! If folks with hearing loss/deaf/hard of hearing do not get to hear the homily, even if they can walk inside the church, would that bother you? After all, we are talking about access to God's word.
EWTN Mass (8 am (EST) daily including Sunday's) has real time captioning). They have other times too so check the website. Their homilies are in Captioning and they provide them daily and not just Sundays. This is a real treat having access daily with CC. I prefer this over reading a Homily off the internet. It's more connecting and you get to see the priest who is talking instead of reading just a piece of paper off the internet. The human element is important and a lot of non verbal communication is involved when you witness a presentation from the speaker compared to reading off a written homily guideline and not be able to tie together the verbal and non verbal in real time that captioning can do. You can be part of any shared laughter and jokes or prayers. With captioning you can glance both at the words and the person giving the speech. You experience the witnessing of the priest giving it and therefore more effective communication access.
"You can't sit down Saturday evening, type out
a homily and expect to move people's minds
and hearts," Carlson said. "
EWTN homilies are quite good too. Many of the priests there speak with passion and you can feel that. The human element is very important to witness which allows you to engage in the homily actively.
I feel a part of the EWTN community because of the captioning they provide and it is nice to connect to the message. I like being able to read the captioning and the body language of the priest at the same time. I was very excited about it when the captioning first came out on EWTN and how much more you can engage in it compared to a regular Mass (if there is no real time captioning) that you can't fully participate in, especially the Homily, Prayer of the faithful, announcements and any blessings since the other parts you can at least read in the Missal.
However, the drawback about watching EWTN Mass (or any broadcast live Mass with CC) is that you can’t receive communion physically or connect to the community and share/profess your faith together with others in person; you only have the TV screen. On the other hand, it is not connecting going to a real Mass if you don't have communication access in order to participate with the fellowship and community or 'fully and actively participate in the liturgy celebrations'. There is integration between Word and Sacrament that is important to witness. You are excluded in a real Mass if you don't have communication access whether it is Captioning, Audio loops or Sign Language, the three most common communication access for addressing and covering the diversity of those with hearing loss and deafness whichever works for you.
Captioning (CART or Remote CART) is a wonderful way to share the Joy of the Gospel to the widest range of those on the spectrum of hearing loss and deafness (and many other 'disabilities' too). Getting an authentic homily in real time allows you to reflect on it at the same time as the congregation in spiritual unity and witness the priest giving it. It's more connecting. Most priests only use the written homily as a guideline and do not follow it word to word, and many wing it or just provides 'notes'. Captioning connects you to the message in an authentic way and the priest becomes a more effective witness.
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"Accessible meeting space allows
everyone to participate."
(Source: http://www.ada.gov/business/accessiblemtg.htm
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"Today this word has been fulfilled in
your
hearing" (see Lectionary of the Mass:
Introduction, 3; c.f. Luke 4:21). The
assembled
faithful do not hear about God; rather,
they hear
God speak to them." (Source: http://www.pastoralliturgy.org/resources/0909CSL-IntimateConnectionBetweenWordAndRite.php)
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Church Drop outs:
"About 90 percent of church members and constituents living with any of these forms of hearing loss become church dropouts. The culprit is the not uncommon failure of churches to be "hearing-accessible. "
Source: ( http://gbgm-umc.org/disc/sosbook.stm)
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Opening the Doors:
Getting Access to the Mass: http://captioningthemass.blogspot.com/2014/06/opening-doors-catholics-with-hearing.html
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More Doors Opening:
"While I was greeting my members, Greg, who is totally late-deafened, came out of the sanctuary with his hands in the air and loud enough so I could hear as well as everyone in the room and said, "I could understand" - a tear welled up in my eyes as I gave him back a great big smile and 2 thumbs up!" (Source: http://www.2020captioning.com/blogs#sthash.m3QpllV5.dpuf)
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Captioning (CART or Remote CART)
is a wonderful way to share the Joy of the Gospel that allows full and active participation for so many with hearing loss. Listening to an authentic Homily directly from the priest himself in interpretative verbatim of our native English language is active real time participation allowing full attention, focus and engagement in the moment of that important part of the Mass, entering into spiritual communion and unity, sharing, reflecting, and connecting to the message during the Liturgy of the Word with the congregation which prepares you for the Sacrament and to better live a Catholic Christian life. All parts of the liturgy should be fully accessible and in an authentic way to those with hearing loss. The priest becomes an effective witness when sharing it to those with hearing loss.
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increase our sensitivity not only on a
conference level, but also in the local
church,” Johnson said. “There are
thousands of
people for whom there is no access to
church. "(Source: http://umc-gbcs.org/faith-in-action/eastern-pa.-moves-toward-full-accessibility).
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"The faithful are called to spread the
word, and captioning makes that more
achievable. " (Source: http://www.closedcaptioning.net/webcasting/captioning-church-programming)
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Captioning Shares the Message
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What do the deaf and hard of hearing use for Communication Access?:
ASL (American Sign Language) is used by the Culturally Deaf in the USA, CART (real time captioning) or its newer tech version called Remote CART is used by the late deaf, oral deaf and severe to profound hearing loss, ALD's (Assistive Listening Devices) are used by the hard of hearing (mild and moderate hearing loss). Captioning (CART) can sometimes be used by the culturally Deaf but you need to ask them first. The Hard of Hearing (mild and moderate) can also use captioning but they usually prefer Audio Loops. Again, you need to ask them first. Yes, I know I keep saying this through out my blog. We are diverse you see. We need to break the sound barriers for everyone so they can fully and actively participate and share the Joy of the Gospel to all.
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"We depend on captions for television, movies, relay phone calls, live theater and meetings, etc. However, captions are lacking at churches and synagogues. As a result we no longer attend. We feel excluded from the spiritual communities." (Source: http://xpressivehandz.blogspot.com/2014/07/why-churches-and-synagogues-need-to.html)
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"An interpreter/translator uses sign language to translate the spoken word for the hearing impaired. However, late deafened or hard of hearing people {and oral deaf} would essentially need to learn a whole new language to comprehend the translation. Other available avenues for communication would be via captioning or Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART). These are critical links in communication for the deaf and hard of hearing."
is the language of many deaf and hard of hearing people. Sign language should be provided if that is one's language. But so should Captioning. Its not either/or, its both/and. Its respecting and celebrating diversity and providing equal communication access for all.
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"Of all the barriers to full participation and inclusion, the barrier of unexamined attitudes is the most difficult to address," states Ginny Thornburgh, director of the American Association of People with Disabilities' Interfaith Initiative."
(Source: http://www.disabilitiesandfaith.org)
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Experiences of a late deaf
person:
"It wasn’t until closed
captioning and CART came
along that I finally stopped to
really think about who I am?
Most recently, CART and closed
captioning has given me a great
deal of hope and brought me
closer to accepting that I have
truly found my comfort zone."
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Caption Catholic Tidbits:
Hearing Loss Association of America – The Nation's Voice for people with hearing loss: See http://www.hearingloss.org
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The Association of Late Deafened Adults (really anyone deaf of any age onset): See http://www.alda.org
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| Pray For Us All! _____________________________________ 
Come Pray the Rosary with others - together Online: http://www.comepraytherosary.org
(text guided version offered to follow along)
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|
" No captions is like no ramp for people in wheelchairs or signs stating ‘people with disabilities are not welcome."
This applies just as well to real time captioning in churches as well, only the church is ADA exempt. The ADA law does not apply to churches. The church and any kind of worship place of any faith is allowed to discriminate and not provide real time captioning for church services. 90 percent of the those with hearing loss do not attend church because the church is not accessible to them.
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"Accessible meeting space allows
everyone to participate."
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"Of all the barriers to full participation and inclusion, the barrier of unexamined attitudes is the most difficult to address," states Ginny Thornburgh, director of the American Association of People with Disabilities' Interfaith Initiative."
(Source: http://www.disabilitiesandfaith.org)
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"The key to deciding what aid or service is needed to communicate effectively is to consider the nature, length, complexity, and context of the communication as well as the person’s normal method(s) of communication." (Source: http://www.ada.gov/effective-comm.htm)
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US Bishop Statement:
'It is essential that all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to people with disabilities, since these forms are the essence of the spiritual tie that binds the Christian community together'
(Source: http://www.disabilityawarenesstraining.com/component/content/article/3/40)
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The purpose of this blog is to raise Diversity Awareness among those with hearing loss and deafness, and to raise awareness that many with hearing loss are being excluded from full participation at the Mass if the church does not have Captioning. Catholics with hearing loss deserve the fullness of their faith. Does your Diocese/Archdiocese have at least one Mass service in Captioning at a church that one who benefits from it can reasonably travel to in order to fully and actively participate at the Mass? Contact your Diocese/Archdiocese - find it here: http://www.usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm.)
Is your church or Diocese/Archdiocese inclusive to all those with hearing loss and deafness by providing Real time Captioning, Sign Language and Audio Loops? If not - Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is needed in order to share the joy of the gospel by applying Universal Communication Access. It is very important to share the Word of God with everyone. Let's pray for that!
Prayer of Inclusion: http://www.ncpd.org/ministries-programs/spirituality/prayers
"Be not Afraid, Open Wide the Gates" - Pope St. John Paul II
(Source: http://jp2forum.blogspot.com/2013/12/be-not-afraid-resounding-from-1531-to.html)
CC-CaptionCatholic
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