Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

86whole human being living with a disability, and not exclusively in terms of theirimpaired body and mind. 218 Theologically, this is affirmed through the fullyhuman status accorded all human beings through the act of creation, and throughbeing ‘in Christ.’However, if the principal descriptor of people with a disability is, at asocietal level, in terms of disability, then the stigmatization that accompaniessuch labeling can lead to that person or persons being regarded, as Goffmannasserts, as “not quite human.” 219 This is on the basis of these people possessingdifferentiating attributes from others. Such differentiation causes the person inquestion to be regarded less in terms of their God-given creational andChristological status, and more so as a being of blemished and discountedworth. 220 Given that people with an intellectual disability have been and areaccommodated and served in institutions on the basis of their disability, the riskof being regarded as less than fully human is quite feasible.The principles undergirding this integrated model are to be seen as havinga contributing role in the overall reflective process that will be described inchapter 5. However, it is also possible that the understandings reached, and thesubsequent pastoral model, may give rise to a more mature understanding of thispresent disability model.2.7 SummaryIn this chapter, the task of detailing the parameters by which fundamentalextended reflection concepts will be understood has commenced. There is a needto hear, interpret and understand the voice and identity of the person withintellectual disability as authentically as possible. There is also vital need todescribe the institutional context carefully and accurately. This extendedreflection is fundamentally concerned with the authentic understanding of peoplewith intellectual disability, the contexts in which they live, and the relationship218 Theologically this is affirmed in terms of all people being created in the image of God. Inhumanitarian terms it is highlighted in the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Personswhen it states that people with a disability (termed disabled persons in the declaration) “…have the inherent right to respect for their human dignity.”United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Declaration on the Rights ofDisabled Persons United Nations, 1975 [cited January 1 2009]. Available from,http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf. articles 3 & 6.219 Goffman, Stigma, 5.220 ibid., 2-3.