To our dear handicapped friends in "Faith and Light" gathered in Rome. To their parents. To their friends.
We rejoice with you that you have chosen, like so many pilgrims before you, to meet in Rome during this Holy Year—to ask God for a renewed heart, purified and strengthened, and to live as reconciled Christians in a wider and deeper brotherhood.
To all of you who suffer, we proclaim the Good News that the Apostle Peter, before us, carried to Rome.
You hold a special place in the Heart of Jesus Christ, who says to you: "Come to me, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Mt. 11, 28-29). And with Him, you hold a place in the Love of God the Father, who makes you His children, who places His Spirit within you, who will one day bring you into His Light.
You hold a chosen place in the Church, where your simple faith, your prayer, your longing look for affection, your generous heart remind Christians of the essential path to God.
You hold a place in human society, where, thank God, you count many friends bound to you, who support you and rely on you.
As for you, dear parents and educators, we would strengthen your courage and your hope with all our paternal affection. The faithfulness of your tenderness, your patience, your perseverance in opening your child, your handicapped friend, to the joys of life and to whatever progress his limited abilities allow—this reminds us of God's ceaseless love in leading humanity toward full light, of Christ's constant desire to heal, to save, to bring the Good News to the poor.
May the Lord transform this wound into grace, drawing you closer to the Passion of Christ! May your family bear this trial with love and in solidarity; may your friends and neighbors be welcoming and understanding, with simplicity and humanity! May those responsible for schools, recreation, work, and economic life care even more about truly including these brothers and sisters who belong to the human family!
For despite fine declarations of principle and many worthy initiatives to which we pay tribute, our society risks leaving on the margins those whose integration demands greater creative imagination, disinterested love, and hope. Yet this is the truest test of a fully human family, of a truly civilized society, and all the more of an authentically Christian Church. Do not these suffering ones who reach out their hands to us also have a message to give us?
Honor to all who dedicate themselves to leading them into the faith and light of a fuller life! To them, to the handicapped here present, and to all who could not come, we give our paternal Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, October 25, 1975
Paulus P. P. VI