January 24: St Francis de Sales and Deaf People

January 24 marks the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.  Among various honors, St. Francis is remembered as a patron saint for Deaf people.  Four centuries ago, he showed deep concern for conveying the Faith to just one individual with a hearing loss (cf, Father Thomas Dailey, OSFS of DeSales University).  

How Many People Have Hearing Losses and Use American Sign Language?

Estimating the numbers of people with hearing loss is challenging!  And how a hearing loss impacts a particular person depends on the type/severity of the loss, what sort of amplification/accommodation is possible, the age at onset, and educational/rehabilitation strategies, among other factors.  It is even more difficult to estimate the number of people who rely on American Sign Language (ASL).    

• "American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf" (American Sign Language, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 4/25/17 update)

• Among individual with all types and severities of hearing loss, Jerome Schein and Marcus Delk (National Census of the Deaf Population, 1974) defined "Deaf" people as those whose hearing loss was so severe that they could not hear/understand speech. Schein and Delk found 0.2% of the general population to be "prevocationally deaf" (i.e., to have become deaf prior to 19 years of age).  They also found 90% to have hearing parents and 90% to have hearing children.  Many have assumed that prevocationally deaf people comprise the majority of ASL users. 
  
  "The Schein and Delk (1974) NCDP report remains the ultimate source for data-based estimates of how many people use ASL in the United States.... According to Schein and Delk (1974), the total prevocationally deaf population – civilian, noninstitutionalized persons of all ages – was estimated to be 410,522 persons in 1971....Schein and Delk (1974) provided evidence that there may have been as many as 500,000 people, regardless of hearing status, who signed at home in 1972" (How Many People Use ASL in the United States?  Why Estimates Need Updating, 2/21/05).

We follow a Shepherd who would go in search of just one lost sheep!  St. Francis de Sales showed deep concern for conveying the Faith to just one individual with a hearing loss.

As per canonist Dr. Edward Peters (the father of a congenitally deaf daughter) :

"* Fewer than 5% of Deaf Americans regularly attend a church (let alone a Catholic church) primarily because language barriers inhibit evangelization, catechesis, and liturgical participation." (10/3/08)

The Philadelphia Archdiocese is blessed to have an ASL fluent priest.  Philadelphia and the Trenton Diocese also utilize sign language interpreters.  To this blogger, it seems that the gifts of ASL-fluent priests need to be shared across dioceses for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, special missions, and retreats.  

A Study Guide to the Compendium of the Catechism

Dr. Edward Peters maintains "A Bibliography of Deaf Catholic Sources and Studies."