A PASTOR'S VIEW: We must take the anxiety out of the 'what next' question for people with learning disabilities, writes Father Alan Hilliard.
Watching the various Special Olympics teams arrive at the welcome centre counts as one of the greatest privileges of my life.
The emotions of those involved were obvious, but what I will remember most is the opportunity for goodness they provided. Everyone rose to the challenge with wonderful commitment.
One African delegate came up to me and said: "I am so proud for your country." He was right. We have a right to be proud. Hosting the Special Olympics World Games has given us an opportunity to realise where our greatness really lies.
Working abroad for the last two years I had heard Ireland being marketed as a land of economic growth and opportunity. However I'm glad to come back and discover through these Games our true wealth - great goodness, warmth, belief that dreams can come true, and a sense that it's worth making sacrifices.
Once we are given a proper opportunity, where expectations are properly explained and we are convinced that people will benefit from our efforts, we excel. I've seen this over and over again in parishes throughout our land.
The inclusive nature of the Games cannot be overlooked or underestimated. People of different races, languages, faiths and cultures unite around the "Flame of Hope". Many host towns and families have educated themselves so that they can be sensitive and hospitable towards their visitors.
This has been a wonderful, enriching experience for all. We are learning that difference does not diminish us but, rather, makes us more outward-looking and confident. Facilitating the beliefs and culture of another demands that we understand our own beliefs and culture first. Wishing that everybody could be the same is a false hope and goes against the nature of a God who created us rich in diversity.
In every culture and faith there are teachings that encourage us to reach out to the stranger and build peace through hospitality and goodness.
On the field of play, the Games showed us that everybody has abilities, no one can be written off. The great catch cry of the Games - "disability does not mean inability" - holds great truth that has changed my attitudes and will change the attitudes of many.
The present Holy Father has guided us through an examination of many of the totalitarian regimes of our times by referring us to the dignity of each and every individual. The Games bring this lesson home to us. An internal dynamic or energy has been given to us by the Risen Lord which urges us to create a new way of being in this world.
Like all communities of the resurrection we live with our energy directed towards a reality not yet fulfilled. The question "what next?" haunted the early community when the Lord was crucified.
Many who are involved in the Games will be asking "what next?"
This question weighs heavily on parents of people with learning disabilities. It occurs not just when school or training draws to an end but "what next?" when a parent grows elderly or infirm. "What next?" for their son or daughter.
The Special Olympics have helped parents find joy in their children's achievements and have taken some of the pain out of the "what next?" question, but it has to be faced. We affirm that everyone has rights. But a right, like a cheque, only has value if it has a bank against which it can be drawn. It is our duty to create an infrastructure where we can see more and more people give expression to their abilities. Hopefully, in the future, the question "what next?" will create excitement and opportunity and less worry and anxiety.
Father Alan Hilliard, a priest of the Dublin archdiocese, is pastoral care manager to the Special Olympics World Games