Alberto di Tullio, aged 17, experienced something most people can only dream of - he rode through the crowds in St Peter’s Square alongside Pope Francis in the Pope mobile.
Francis’ eye had caught the blue-and-white striped Argentinian football shirt Alberto was wearing, Alberto’s father explained later.
But the media’s attention flew to the more obvious angle: Alberto had Down ’s syndrome.
That the Pope had singled him out was further evidence of his concern for those marginalised by society.
Several years ago I officiated at the Requiem Mass and funeral for a young man with this condition.
The anguish of his parents was profound.
Their little son who had brought such love into their home was gone.
In my homily, I described how these gentle prophets have a special mission for our world today because they see it in a different way – if only we would listen.
In Gaelic they are called ‘Duine Le Dia’ - meaning a ‘person touched by a spark of the divine’.
God is telling us again and again that He chooses the weak to confound the strong.
The more we live with them the more we come to know God does not make mistakes and we are the people with the handicap for we know nothing of their innocent and undiluted world of joy.
In a world where we are slow to trust they reach out to everyone as a friend.
In a world where we are envious at the success of others, they laugh at our trivial jealousies.
In a world separated by colour, class, religion and wealth they have no need for such labels that divide.
Their quiet message for us is to slow down and see what we are missing.
They take people one at a time, life a day at a time, friendships an embrace at a time.
They don’t talk love - they live it.
In spite of the pain of not being fit to join in other children’s games, the teasing and bullying by the ignorant, in spite of these and the other difficulties of a cruel world, they go through life with hearts full of love and with a smile on their faces.
Parents are indeed shocked at the time of birth, a natural human reaction, but soon learn to love them as the light of their lives for they are the most gentle and caring people on earth.
I am blessed to be able to call some of them my friends.
Since the recent introduction of new pre-natal screening techniques, the number of babies aborted because they had Down’s, has soared because sadly most people now terminate pregnancies where this syndrome is identified.
I cannot remember the last time I christened a child with Down’s.
When did you last see a Down’s baby born?
It is a genetic condition that can cause some learning disabilities but most can live happy and fulfilled lives until they are nearly sixty.
Can you believe it that so many of these angelic children with so much to teach us about unconditional love will never be able to breath in a lungful of God’s good air, to see a white cloud cross a blue sky or feel the warmth of a mother love?
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