The panel event featured a lineup of experts and advocates who highlighted the social support that persons with Down syndrome need to thrive and contribute to society, as well as the gaps and challenges in ensuring an inclusive and welcoming society for all those with Down syndrome.

Mark Bradford spoke about the sad eugenic past of the United States going way back to the turn of the 20th century and supported by well-known names like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Kellogg, and even the 28th president, Woodrow Wilson.

He stressed that this past is still lived in the present with the prenatal diagnosis and abortion of babies with Down syndrome, and how that fact lives in conflict with both the contributions and inherent dignity of individuals with Down syndrome.

This closely aligns with the mission of the Fellowship for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which exists to draw people with disabilities and their families more deeply into the Catholic faith and its evangelization activities.

Please consider making a gift to enable Word on Fire’s outreach to this community so that all may feel welcomed and supported by the Church as members of the Body of Christ.

A central task of this Fellowship is to create and develop evangelization and catechetical resources, materials, and opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to establish a community of support for families whose loved ones are living with an intellectual or developmental disability within the broader Word on Fire community.

Thank you for your support of this important undertaking!

God bless you,

The Word on Fire Team