Vatican City, Nov 20, 2009 / 23:46 pm
This morning Pope Benedict XVI received 400 participants in an international conference for the hearing impaired, saying to them, “you are not only recipients of the announcement of the Gospel but, by virtue of your Baptism, also its announcers.”
The conference titled, “Effata! Deaf People in the Life of the Church” is being promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care and is headed by Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski.
The Pope explained that the name “effata” was chosen as a theme for the conference was that “it is a paradigm of how the Lord works for people with a hearing impairment.” The Holy Father then referred to the passage from the Gospel of Mark where “Jesus takes a deaf man aside and, having performed certain symbolic gestures, raises His eyes to heaven and says: 'effata', that is, be opened.' In that moment...the man recovered his hearing, his tongue was loosened and he spoke plainly.”
The Pope said that Christ's actions in curing the man are full of love and compassion. “He expressed real concern, took him aside from the confusion of the crowds, and made him feel His closeness and understanding through certain highly significant gestures.”