Date of Award

1991

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

First Advisor

Arlene Taich

Second Advisor

Allene Jackson

Third Advisor

Sister Joan Klaus

Abstract

All Catholic churches of the St. Louis Archd1ocese were the focus of a study conducted to examine how the church meets the needs of the frail, elderly, and handicapped on the parish level. A total of 227 parishes were included 1n the survey; of these 138 responded to the questionnaire. A significant relationship between income of the parish and physical structural improvements to accommodate the frail, elderly and/or handicapped was not indicated. A significant difference between the number of male and female volunteers was not found. However, there were significant findings to support the hypothesis that Pastors and the Catholic parishes are meeting the needs of this population, at least partially. There was no significant relationship between lack of transportation and lack of church attendance. From the data received, 64% of the Pastors would like to receive more information about how to further increase awareness of the needs of the frail, elderly, and the handicapped populations.

Included in

Social Work Commons

Share

COinS