A Magisterium of Fragility : is there a space for disability-leadership in the church to come?

Abstract

Within the framework of his catechesis on old age in 2022, Pope Francis has regularly spoken of a “Magisterium of Fragility”. The expression arises for the first time (to my knowledge) during the General Audience of 1 June 2022, where it is explicitly linked to the testimony of elderly people when they confidently abandon themselves to the care of others, starting with Godself. Francis evokes this teaching again on 3 December of the same year in his message on the International Day of People with Disabilities, and defines it as a charism by which people with disabilities can enrich the Church. For the Church, this recognition of the valuable contribution of disabled lives stands in staunch contrast with the absence of people with disabilities in Catholic leadership functions. [extract]