"You people are such an inconvenience and ruin my worship experience with your petty ills and poor spirits"
Posted on 05/18/2008 6:54:58 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
The mother of a 13-year-old autistic boy who was banned by a court order from attending services at a Roman Catholic church in Bertha, Minn., woke up Sunday determined to take her son to mass.
But Carol Race changed her mind when Todd County Sheriff Pete Mikkelson met her at the end of her driveway Sunday and told her she would be arrested if she brought her son, Adam, into the Church of St. Joseph.
Instead, Race took Adam and her four other children to mass at Christ the King Church in nearby Browerville, Minn. "It occurred to me that if I step foot in [St. Joseph], they will arrest me and I won't end up going to mass anyway," she said.
She is scheduled to appear in court today over a citation she received last week for violating the restraining order by taking Adam to church on Mother's Day.
The dispute has drawn attention to what Race and advocates for the disabled say is a lack of education and understanding about autism. Race said that even though her son, who is home-schooled, sometimes acts up in church, the experience benefits him.
"He has a sense of the routine," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about the Catholic mass for autistic individuals, its routine."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
This is not society — it is a Catholic Church. Jesus would never turn away a child. A Catholic priest doing so is unconscionable.
If the child is truly as disruptive to the parish as claimed, then the priest should offer to have a private short mass for this child, or something similar as THAT IS HIS JOB.
For a Catholic Church to place a restraining order against a child who has autism is not anything I will ever understand or condone.
Hey murderers, rapists and theives — our doors are open to hear your pennance. Autistic children who spit and have toileting accidents? not so much.
Sickening.
I agree, and from reading other articles written on this situation it appears that is exactly what this family does — they remove him. They sit in the back of the church and leave before mass is over.
My husband, who is a devout Catholic, was upset at the thought that our son would never make his first communion. The Diocese in my area shared his concerns and have developed a program for special needs children that is just outstanding. He will make his first communion. My son will be an active member of our Church community as we have compassionate clergy who understand that every family has challenges, and every child has worth and amazing potential in the eyes of God.
I don’t suppose praying for and getting this kid healed occurred to anyone?
This mom sounds like she’s on a crusade for autism awareness and acceptance rather than fixing the problem.
No, this is a situation where the child should not be in the public area of the church. Many churches now have “baby” rooms where crying children can be taken to settle them down etc. and not disturb the rest of the mass. These rooms are often equipped with speakers and tempered windows to allow the family to continue to see and here the mass. A room like that for this family would be one idea to compromise, the other was communion taken to the home of the family, another would be several fellow parishioners to offer praise services at the home of the family.
I am in agreement with the court order until such time a reasonable compromise can be found.
Indeed the ADA regulations do not cover situations where the disability would cause harm to the person or others.
You can't assume he didn't. The short article states that the pastor has been working with the family for a year. It appears the mother simply refused any reasonable compremise.
As a Catholic and a father of a profoundly Autistic boy not much younger than the one in the article, I support the pastor in this case.
My wife and I make the extra effort to ensure my son is well behaved in public. There are unfortunately many parents who won't or can't make that effort to disipline their typical children much less their Autistic children.
I'm convinced that God brought my son into our lives for a reason but not for us to make other's lives less pleasurable.
.
Did Jesus say: “To hell with the lepers and sick. They are a distraction, inconvenience and a burden to society”?
I don’t recall reading that.
"You people are such an inconvenience and ruin my worship experience with your petty ills and poor spirits"
Its ok to mainstream these children in public schools but not churches?
Now that you have found the cure for autism, you should publish a paper Dr. UPS Driver.
I don’t believe he’s incontinent — he’s deliberately p*ssing in the church to be disruptive.
>>The Rev. Daniel Walz, who did not return calls left at the Church of St. Joseph parish office, wrote in court documents that Adam's behavior was “extremely disruptive and dangerous.” He alleged that Adam, who is more than 6 feet tall and weighs over 225 pounds, spits and urinates in church and has nearly injured children and elderly people.
In an affidavit, Walz wrote: “The parish members and I have been very patient and understanding. I have made repeated efforts through Catholic Education Ministries, Caritas Family Services, and most recently, sought to try and mediate the matter with the family to ask them to voluntarily not bring Adam to church, but it has been to no avail.” The Diocese of St. Cloud said in a statement that the restraining order, issued May 9, was “a last resort.”
Race said Walz’s descriptions of Adam's behavior illustrate that he understands little about autistic behavior and how to address it. She said that Walz used language like “urinate” to describe an incontinence problem that Adam sometimes has which is no worse than that an elderly person or a young child might have.
Adam's parents sometimes tie his hands and feet with fabric restraints, which Race said is a technique used by other families and school personnel who work with autistic children. At Sunday's service in Browerville, Race said Adam participated in the service, kneeling with the congregation and accompanying family members when they went up front to take communion.
Carol Race said that her husband, John, attended mass at St. Joseph's on Saturday evening without his family and had stayed home Sunday morning because the family wanted to ensure that one parent would be available to care for the children if Carol were arrested.
The restraining order will remain in place for one year.
The Races haven't decided whether they will attend another parish. “My primary focus is to do the right thing, according to what God wants me to do,” Carol Race said. “Without church every Sunday, my family life would have fallen apart. This is what sustains us.”
Sheriff Mikkelson said he sent deputies to Sunday's service in case the Races tried to violate the restraining order.
“It was an uncomfortable thing, and we didn't want to get involved,” he said. “She heeded our warning. Now, hopefully, this will get resolved through our courts.”<<
Well, that does confirm that he is Catholic. :)
Hi FRiend:
raycpa made a comment that they should take communion to the family. That is where I got that from. I thought it was a good idea and a kind one. The article didn’t say anything about that. Then one question led to another...
You know how we FReepers are, always thinking!
Have a terrific day!
Renée
“where are all these mormons coming from?”
We are everywhere! Bwaa haa haa (she laughs her best sinister laugh)! All kidding aside, I am Mormon, Dad was Catholic, Mom was Congregationalist, and my brother fancies himself to be Jewish. My favorite aunt and uncle are Jehovah’s Witnesses. We all love and respect one another and get along just fine.
I suspect you did not read the article, so here are some quotes to help you reassess your comments:
“Adam, who is more than 6 feet tall and weighs over 225 pounds, spits and urinates in church and has nearly injured children and elderly people.” — Fr. Daniel Walz
“The parish members and I have been very patient and understanding. I have made repeated efforts through Catholic Education Ministries, Caritas Family Services, and most recently, sought to try and mediate the matter with the family to ask them to voluntarily not bring Adam to church, but it has been to no avail.”
It was made plain here that the parish priest went out of his way to be accommodating, and it simply didn’t work out. Why should he inconvenience and put at physical risk ALL of his parishioners for the needs of a single oversized child who cannot control himself, emotionally, physically or with respect to bodily excretions ? If that behemoth injured a smaller child in a fit of rage, the church would be at risk to a major lawsuit. No, what the issue is here is one selfish mother who doesn’t give a damn about putting others at harm to make herself feel better. That’s no different than these idiot parents and supposedly enlightened officials that try to mainstream these special needs children into the public schools, forcing both teachers and students to serve as babysitters at the expense of the other students needs and education. This is wrong, and if you have a problem with that, there’s something wrong with you.
BTW, I don’t think the late Mother Teresa would’ve been able to pick up and hold this baby described in the article.
I saw this on Foxnews this morning. Gretchen really seemed to take the mother’s side and I was surprised, but I think those who think the church did the wrong thing should volunteer to take this young man to their church and sit by him. It’s sad that he cannot control himself enough to attend church, but I know that the Catholic church will go and give communion to people who cannot attend mass.
susie
Please immediately contact this family and take this young man to your church! There, problem solved!
susie
I suspect Jesus would heal him.
susie
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