NCPD takes this occasion to thank the bishops for the 1978 Pastoral Statement on People with Disabilities. The statement furnished the impetus for creating, four years later, in 1982, NCPD out of the National Advisory Committee on Ministry with Handicapped People. NCPD has also used the 1978 Pastoral Statement as a foundation from which to press for civil legislation, fostering greater participation in public life on the part of citizens with disabilities.