Lorella Fava is inspired by Fr Cyril Axelrod, an internationally-renowned deaf-blind priest, who is in Malta where he wishes to impart his message of hope.
South African priest Cyril Axelrod is a deaf-blind Catholic priest of the Redemptorist Order who acquired international fame for his work among deaf and blind people around the world.
He is now in Malta as a guest of the Deaf Ministry Team within the Diocesan Commission for Disabled Persons, where he aims to reach out to the community with his message of hope.
His visit also coincides with the launch of the Maltese edition of his book And the Journey Begins, which has been translated into Maltese by Fred Bezzina.
In the book, he recounts his difficult childhood, his wrenching spiritual journey into adulthood and his pastoral ministry in many parts of the world.
His tireless work to help disabled people and be an inspiration to many could potentially be linked to his father, who inspired him when he was a young boy, and made him believe he could help people.
Through my father’s inspiration I realised I can work with disabled people also because I myself am disabled
“My father took me to a deaf home for old people, he showed me how to use deaf-blind manual fingerspelling on hand, he took me to a home for mentally retarded people and showed me how to push the wheelchair and how to give them drink or feed them. Through my father’s inspiration I realised I can work with disabled people also because I myself am disabled.”
This support and motivation, Fr Cyril explains, is not found everywhere. He refers to his experience in the Far East, where the disabled are traditionally seen as a cause of shame. He recounts how in China, for instance, disabled children are seen as an omen due to the country’s tradition of having the children take care of their parents when they get old.
“I wanted to show parents that I, with my disability, could still achieve anything I set my mind on. I think I became a good role model and my being there seemed to change their attitude and their perspective on disability”.
When asked about his feelings on his international fame – Queen Elizabeth give him the title of Officer of the British Empire – he claims it inspired him to continue with his projects.
“It feels wonderful and it motivates me to go on,” he says.
Although Fr Cyril is of the Catholic fate, he nonetheless feels the Church should be more open, inviting to people with disability and focus on teaching them to accept the disability as a gift from God.
“The Church should experience the empathy of disability and the quality of their life hidden in god’s love and mercy.”
His hope is that the community will accept the dignity of disability as he plans to set up further services for the deaf-blind and other disabilities around the world.
• Fr Cyril will today be at Id-Dar tal-Providenza’s Valletta office in St Paul Street for a book signing session of his autobiography U Jibda l-Vjaġġ.
This interview was made possible with the help of David Bezzina, a sign language expert.