Deaf priest hears God\u2019s call<\/p>\n
One of the most difficult decisions Bea Murphy and her husband
\nMichael had to make took place in 1970. Their daughter Colleen was
\nborn deaf, and at just 4 years old, she was sent 142 miles away from
\ntheir home in Liverpool to St. Mary\u2019s School for the Deaf in
\nBuffalo. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no deaf education program here,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cIt
\nwas just horrible.\u201d <\/p>\n
About 11 years later, Murphy met Rev. Tom Coughlin, the first deaf
\npriest to be ordained in the United States. At the request of
\ncountless parents with deaf children, he was searching for property in
\nthe Adirondack Mountains to begin a Catholic Deaf Youth Camp. When
\nRev. Jim Quinn of the Syracuse Diocese went to meet with Coughlin,
\nMurphy went too. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I met him,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when he found
\nCamp Mark Seven.\u201d <\/p>\n
Camp Mark Seven, located at the former Mohawk Hotel in Old Forge, is
\nnamed after the Gospel of Mark, Chapter Seven, where Jesus healed a
\ndeaf man. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe [camp\u2019s] primary purpose is to help deaf youth open up to
\nthe truth of God\u2019s existence and gift of life in our world,\u201d
\nCoughlin said via email. <\/p>\n
Programs include four-week sessions for deaf children and teenagers,
\nas well as month sessions for hearing children of deaf parents. The
\ncamp thrives with long waiting lists, and survives solely on donations
\nand camper fees. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen looking back, I realized that my goal and vision were quite
\nevolutionary in nature,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cI did not become a priest
\nwith a specific goal of establishing Camp Mark Seven. It just evolved
\nout of encountering various experiences and challenges in the field of
\ndeaf ministry.\u201d <\/p>\n
Recently, Coughlin helped celebrate Mass at Christ the King Church in
\nLiverpool after he accepted an invitation from the pastor, Rev. James
\nFritzen. Coughlin signed directly to the deaf persons in the audience
\nbut an interpreter was also present to sign when it wasn\u2019t practical
\nfor Coughlin to continue. <\/p>\n
The purpose for his visit? <\/p>\n
To inform the faithful of his mission to help deaf men who want to
\nbecome priests, and for them to be able to use sign language as the
\nprimary source of communication during Mass for those in the deaf
\ncommunity. <\/p>\n
The parishioners\u2019 response was overwhelming, Fritzen said, who set
\nup a collection for Coughlin\u2019s cause. <\/p>\n
\u201cI became a priest in a religious order in 1977 and I discovered
\nhow hard it was for a deaf person like me to be mainstreamed in a
\nreligious community that does not use sign language as the primary
\nlanguage,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a very difficult and challenging
\nperiod of my life and it led me to decide to try to establish a
\nreligious community. Like the saying goes, \u2018Necessity is the mother
\nof invention.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
In 2004 and with the help of several religious officials, he
\naccomplished what he set out to do. The religious community, named
\nDominican Missionaries for the Deaf Apostolate, was first established
\nin Hayward, Calif., part of the Diocese of Oakland. <\/p>\n
In 2007, it moved to San Antonio, Texas as the cost of living was too
\nhigh on the West Coast, and, as well, there was a need to have a deaf
\npriest for a deaf parish in that city. <\/p>\n
\u201cDeaf people prefer to have a signing priest as opposed to a sign
\nlanguage interpreter in any Sunday Mass celebration,\u201d Coughlin said.
\n\u201cThe reason for this is that the deaf people can relate more closely
\nwith the holy sacrifice of Mass by looking at and celebrating with the
\npriest. However, deaf people do accept sign language interpreters if
\nthere are no other choices.\u201d <\/p>\n
Murphy, who is a sign language interpreter, affirmed Coughlin\u2019s
\nbelief. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I attend Mass with Fr. Coughlin, it\u2019s coming right from
\nhim. It\u2019s not going through an intermediary, which would be an
\ninterpreter,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can lose meaning depending on the
\nskill level of the interpreter, too.\u201d <\/p>\n
Both Bea and Michael Murphy began a parents group years ago that was
\nessential in the formation of the OCM BOCES Deaf Education program
\n(visit ocmboces.org). <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one thing about deafness,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cYou don\u2019t
\nsee the disability. If someone is in a wheelchair, it\u2019s very
\nobvious. With deaf people, it\u2019s not.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 1947, Coughlin was born in Malone, N.Y. to deaf parents and
\ngrandparents. <\/p>\n
\u201cSign language has been my prima lingua since birth,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt is never easy to be deaf, especially when you have to learn to
\nlive and compete in this hearing world.\u201d <\/p>\n
But things are looking up, Coughlin said, and with the religious
\ncommunity for the deaf flourishing, each member feels like part of the
\nfamily, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday in our religious community, the Dominican Missionaries for
\nthe Deaf Apostolate, our seminarians, both deaf and hearing, do not
\nfeel that they are out on the limb,\u201d he said. \u201cThey feel they are
\npart of the whole family. This is the essence of religious life,
\nliving together as one family with one mind, one heart.\u201d <\/p>\n
Currently there are 10 seminarians living in the San Antonio
\nSeminary, with one ready to be ordained in two years; three others in
\nfour years. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe depend 100 percent on donations as we do not receive any direct
\nfunding from the church or government,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cThis is
\none of the greatest challenges we face in our struggle to maintain our
\nreligious community.\u201d <\/p>\n
For more information about Camp Mark 7, please contact Carrie Fisher
\nat campdir@campmark7.org. To learn more about the seminary, visit
\nDominicanmissionaries.org or call 210-627-6303. <\/p>\n
Sources:
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnylink.com\/cnynews\/view_news.php?news_id=1218647662<\/p>\n
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Deaf priest hears God\u2019s call One of the most difficult decisions Bea Murphy and her husband Michael had to make took place in 1970. Their daughter Colleen was born deaf, and at just 4 years old, she was sent 142…<\/p>\n