Most of us readily accept that mentally handicapped people possess genuine faith — yet we tend to assume their beliefs are shallow. That was certainly our view until the team at LA GLANNE (France) decided to ask each of the profoundly mentally retarded adolescent girls living there a single question: "What do you believe in?".
The girls — aged fourteen to twenty, in groups of eight — answered in their own way: short sentences, sometimes only a whisper, completely unscripted. Their thoughts came in no particular order, jumping around the table. Often one idea prompted another; one girl would finish what her friend had started to say.
What follows is what they said, recorded exactly as spoken. We have kept their words precisely as they gave them to us, grouped their answers into three categories for clarity. It matters to know that more than half these young women are mongoloid and that only two can barely read. Yet they participate in religious instruction offered through what we call a "circle of faith."
Henri Bissonier
(Translated from the French — Ombres et Lumière n.50)
I believe in God
I believe God exists even though we cannot see Him
I believe God is light
God is grave
God is all-powerful
God is great
God loves everyone
God wants peace
We pray to God
We think of Him
I believe in God
God is the Father of Jesus
Jesus is the Son of God
He was born at Christmas
My heart is full of joy at Christmas
Mary is the mother of Jesus
I believe in Jesus, the Son of our Father God and of Mary
He was placed in a manger
He grew up
He worked to help Mary
Jesus prayed
Jesus said to people: "Come all of you"
He gathered them together, spoke to them about God
He said: "God is your Father, He loves you very much"
He taught them to pray to God
I know the friends of God: Peter, Paul, John, James, Mark, and Luke
Jesus broke the Bread of God for all His friends
He gave them the Bread of God and the Wine of God
But some men beat Jesus
They put Him on the cross
Mary was sad and prayed for her Son
Jesus died on the Cross
God was on the earth
But Jesus rose again
He came back alive
He is always alive, He is no longer in the tomb
He is in heaven
He went to be with His Father
I believe that God loves Jesus
Jesus thinks of all of us
Jesus prays for everyone and the friends of Jesus think of Jesus
We are the friends of Jesus
Jesus is my companion
Jesus has light in His heart
Jesus is the light
He is the one who makes the sun shine
Jesus prays for Francesca A companion who recently died, shortly after her father. and for her father
Jesus prayed for the Pope who died
I know that Jesus, the Son of God, rose again
He is not sad, He is happy
I know Jesus is alive
He is in my heart and in my body
I think of Him and I pray to Him
Jesus Bread of God is always with us
We receive Him in Communion
Jesus gives us love through His Spirit
I believe in the Holy Spirit who is close to everyone
In our hearts, Jesus prays and God our Father
He is the Spirit of Love
He helps us to rise again, to be happy, and to love
I believe in baptism which makes us children of God with Jesus
I believe I was baptized and I became a Child of God
I believe the Catholic Church is us, because we are baptized and children of God
The people of God is the Church
I believe in the Pope, who is a priest and who speaks very well about God
The Pope prays
He speaks of the book of the Word to help us know it better
I believe in the words of the Book
I believe in priests who pray for people, who are friends of Jesus, and who celebrate Mass the way John and Peter once did