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Indispensable

Indispensable

A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Edited by Mark Bradford

Format
Regular price $24.95 USD
Regular price $24.95 USD Sale price $24.95 USD
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Winner of the CMA 2026 Book Award for Pastoral Ministry: Parish Life

Winner of the CMA 2026 Book Award for Edited Collections: Contemporary/Modern Authors

Winner of the ACP 2026 Excellence in Publishing Award for Resources for Ministry

Winner of the ACP 2026 Excellence in Publishing Award for Resource of the Year (3rd Place)

There are approximately two million Catholics with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) living in America today. For every hundred individuals on a parish registry, there should be at least two or three with IDDs in the pews. Yet they are noticeably absent from our churches. Do these members of the Church and their families feel like they belong in our parish communities? Do they even feel welcome at all? 

Indispensable, edited by Mark Bradford, is a groundbreaking exploration of how Catholic parishes can prepare to spiritually form and serve people with IDDs and their families. This inspiring collection features essays from a variety of disability experts and advocates, who offer insights from Church guidance, academic research, and their own extensive experience. It also examines a wide range of issues related to the intersection of parish life and IDDs, including chapters on prenatal diagnosis, perinatal loss, the sacraments, the liturgy, education, relationships, and more.

St. Paul teaches us that “the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Cor. 12:22). For a vulnerable population like those with IDDs, the importance of the Church in creating a place of belonging can’t be overstated. The Body of Christ should shine as a welcoming and supportive community for all its members. This vital parish resource will assist readers of all backgrounds—pastors, parents, and all those who work in disability ministry at any level or who are eager to support it—in drawing those with IDDs more fully into the communion of the Church. 

Details

Publisher: Word on Fire
ISBN: 978-1-68578-220-7
Binding: Paperback
Page count: 240
Dimensions: 6 x 9 (in)
Thickness: 0.69
Made in: United States
Language: English
Release date: Sep 22, 2025

About the Author

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford is the Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of Let Us Pray: Catholic Prayers for All Abilities. For over twenty years, he has been blessed to serve in leadership positions in various church ministries, including as the founding president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the US. Mark and his wife, Denise, are parents to Thomas, their sixth of seven children (and first son), who happens to have been gifted with an extra twenty-first chromosome. Mark is a passionate advocate for those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He especially advocates, at every opportunity, against the threat of abortion following a prenatal diagnosis. The Bradfords reside in the Philadelphia suburbs.

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  • We do accept international returns, but we are unable to generate return labels for international shipments. 

 

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Return Policy

For non-damaged, standard returns:

Our products may be returned if they were purchased within the last 90 days, are unused, and are still in their original packaging. Original shipping costs are already collected by the shipper, and therefore the original shipping costs are not refundable.

We will provide a pre-paid return label to you. The maximum shipping cost covered will be $20. If the return shipping costs in excess of $20 to ship it to us, that will be deducted from the refund amount. (Meaning, if one orders 30 bibles and changes their mind after receiving them, it would not be good stewarding of our donor-provided funds for the ministry to cover that return shipment.)


Exceptions and limitations:

  • Bulk books (evangelization pricing): Books sold in pre-boxed quantities are evangelistic in nature and priced as low as possible, and we cover the original shipping cost. For that reason, we are unable to cover return shipping costs for bulk books. If you choose to return a bulk book, return shipping will be the customer’s responsibility in that case.
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For damaged items: 

For damages to the item that are significant in nature, such as missing pages, large gashes in the cover, major creases in the cover, or dents, etc, please email us at sales@wordonfire.org for a no-cost replacement. For minor damages, like a nick or otherwise tiny blemish, or a slightly bent inward corner, or a slightly flaked embossing, these returns may be accepted but the return shipping will not be covered in order to be good stewards of the donor provided funds that make our non-profit ministry possible. For items that are shipped in protective packaging, such as the Leather Bible, note that the outer box is meant to absorb damage in shipping, and the box should not be considered the product itself, and the box is not replaceable.

 

How can I set up my return? 

Please email us to set up your return at sales@wordonfire.org. 

Your order record will be retrieved by the system based on the email address you used to make the purchase. For this reason, please have the email address or the order number (example: Q######) handy when beginning the return process. We are able to accept international returns, but we are unable to generate return shipping labels from countries outside the United States.  

 

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Mark Bradford headshot

About the Editor

Mark Bradford is the Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of Let Us Pray: Catholic Prayers for All Abilities. For over twenty years, he has been blessed to serve in leadership positions in various church ministries, including as the founding president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the US. Mark and his wife, Denise, are parents to Thomas, their sixth of seven children (and first son), who happens to have been gifted with an extra twenty-first chromosome. Mark is a passionate advocate for those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He especially advocates, at every opportunity, against the threat of abortion following a prenatal diagnosis. The Bradfords reside in the Philadelphia suburbs.

What People are Saying

Cardinal Dolan headshot

“Perhaps the most joyful Mass I celebrate each year is on Pentecost Sunday, when I am privileged to administer the sacrament of Confirmation to young men and women with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities. I am grateful to Mark Bradford and the authors whose essays make up Indispensable for their valuable reminder that Jesus instructs us to go and make disciples of all people, and that we need to take that instruction seriously, including for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

—Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

Archbishop Charles Chaput headshot

“One of the great blessings of my life as a bishop has been the witness of families who treasure their children with disabilities. Their love reminds the world that human beings, including the weakest and most compromised, are more than creatures of acquisition, consumption, and competition. We have a higher dignity. We were made for love, and the child with a disability is God’s invitation to all of us to become the people of hope and meaning he created us to be. Mark Bradford’s Indispensable speaks with uncommon skill and comprehensive detail to the importance of our parishes welcoming the disabled. It’s a marvelous, practical, immensely valuable read.”

—Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia

Archbishop Peter Comensoli headshot

“Through Baptism, we are called to build a Church where all are invited, welcomed, valued, and included. The Church’s mission is to reflect the inclusive love of Christ and to elevate the nature, dignity, and destiny of each human being as created in the image of God. This significant work by Mark Bradford and contributors is a vital step toward ensuring that those with intellectual and developmental disabilities find not only a place in shared worship but a true sense of integration into communities of faith. It is a book that offers essential guidance for creating parishes that embrace every member of the Body of Christ, in all its diversity.”

—Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia

Archbishop Kurtz headshot

“Expand your pastoral appreciation and discover the concrete steps to enhance your parish as a place of belonging for persons with disabilities. These essays raise specific aspects rarely considered for a parish to welcome the gifts of persons with disabilities and uncover their indispensable gift from God.”

—Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville

Bishop Michael Burbridge headshot

“This volume offers a rich variety of expertise, experiences, and best practices aimed at the beautiful goal of including, engaging, and serving individuals with disabilities. I pray that everyone who reads and uses this book in pastoral ministry will continue to treat all persons, no matter their condition of life, with profound respect and love, helping them always to feel fully welcomed and cherished in the Church. That is the way it should be, and with the help of God’s grace, that is the way it will be.”

—Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, from the foreword

Francis Maier headshot

“As the father of a son with Down syndrome, I read Indispensable with a special sense of gratitude. Mark Bradford has edited a terrific, life-affirming book. It deserves the widest possible readership in our parishes.”

—Francis X. Maier, Senior Fellow, Catholic Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Erik Carter headshot

“This insightful collection reminds us that our churches are incomplete without the presence, gifts, friendship, and faith of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Moreover, it equips us to welcome and embrace every member of the Body more faithfully and fully.”

—Erik Carter, Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities, Baylor University

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