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 morning on Fox they said that the mother had considered taking him to the cry room, but she didn’t want to disturb the nursing mothers in there. So, yes, they have one.
susie
The purpose of the church is to be spit and urinated on? And injured (old folks and kids)? Who knew....
susie
Many parents with children who are not autistic are the same way. God bless all of you with children with disabilities, btw.
susie
Did you read the whole article?
The part where he spits and urinates on people and has nearly injured elderly and small children?
susie
I guess they just don't make shepherds like they used to.
You know, here's the thing. You give tons of personal information - way more than necessary - and yet, if I dare to address one of those topics, the forum police will be called because my comment would be "personal."
That notwithstanding, one response that comes to mind is that, with a family as all over the map as that, "tolerance" is probably the noblest virtue. And that's not really an accolade, because "tolerance" means, everyone's right, no one's wrong.
Sounds all very nominal and nice and unoffensive and that no one there would ever have to worry about being a martyr or carrying a messy cross or any such thing.
Godspeed!
“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.”
Which is very good to hear that this priest did try alternative means to help this family. However if one of the options was not offering a private mass for him then I still am upset with the way he ultimately handled this.
I did read the article. No where in this article does he state this child urinated on anyone.
My youngest has ADHD. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong for years - my older son could sit for an hour, relatively quietly but my youngest, pffft. He would go to Sunday School and then we’d go to church. I took him to the nursery as long as I could but he passed the age requirement for them. I tried church (with the ‘coloring book’ quiet activity thing in the pew) but he wanted to roll on the floor, turn around and look at people, stand up on the seat, etc etc. He was about 6, 7 years old. He was never loud, never running around, just constantly in motion next to me. I stopped going because I didn’t think it was fair to other worshippers. I missed it, it was the church I’d gone to since childhood - but he just couldn’t do it and I wouldn’t make others put up with him.
They sure don’t.
I feel for you in your situation. But going to a church where I might be spit or urinated on during services, or knocked down is not a church I’d have anything to do with.
Tis a sad situation, but you are assuming the church did not try, they did.
Ok, well then *you* take care of the cleaning of the pews every week where he pees as he sits. Don’t forget the carpet too. It’ll need to be done right after services, so as to avoid any odor. I’m sure mom isn’t scrubbing pews and cleaning carpets and taking home cushions to be washed every week. Don’t forget to clean up where he’s spat. And mmake sure you use Universal Precautions, as those are both bodily fluids.
It's hard enough to control very small children (say, 5 or 6 years old) with developmental disabilities. This "child" is larger than an average grown man. I'm in my 30s and this kid is taller than me by several inches and outweighs me by about 75 lbs. I could not physically control someone that size. If somebody that large decides to pitch a fit, it's going to take several large men to take him down. This is incredibly dangerous and I'm appalled any parent would force others to be placed in jeopardy just to make themselves feel better. Do we ever know if the religious instruction even gets through to the child ? It may not. None of that is made clear.
See, you get it, and I applaud you for your actions as a parent. Sounds like the parents that are the subject of the article need to have a sit down with someone like you. Nobody wants to deny a child religious instruction, far too many in this thread seem to think that’s what it is about, and don’t see it as a health and safety issue. It’s not perfect strangers’ responsibility to put up with a potentially violent and disruptive child and to sit there and pretend like nothing is happening.
Parents make mistakes and don't always choose to do the right thing. But CALLING THE LAW on them is really horrible. I think she overstayed her welcome and should find a church that will work with her more. Or she will have to stop going to church. And that is so sad. That is what alot of us do.
Of course not as compassion for those less fortunate or who have significant challenges that you could not possibly understand is not what church is all about is it?
The child never spit or urinated on anyone.
There is Mass for shut-ins on TV. There are visits from priests or Eucharistic Ministers who give communion to the sick and shut-ins in their homes. I bet if the mother had worked with the priest, he could have put together a Mass for Autistic children in the area.
Most churches have a Cryer's Room (where young children stay, but which is often sparsely populated during certain services. They are off the main worship space, but the people there experience the same service as everyone else (sometimes better, if the Crying Room if near the Altar). He could sit in there.
So there are plenty of options she could have considered, other than subjecting every other parishioner on Sunday mornings when the church is full, to her 6-foot tall, 255+ pound, urinating and spitting child. But she didn't.
Instead, she wants everyone else to be interrupted in prayer and devotion so that her child can experience the "routine".
It is not a routine. It is Mass. It is the most perfect way to offer adoration to God. Everyone else there wants to worship and pray. Not be assaulted with bodily fluids.
I don’t know enough about they attempts at trying. The groups they had get involved would provide religious services outside the church. This family has been attending this church since 1996, I can understand their resentment.
That said I don’t know either of the parties involved in this matter. I just think that a restraining order was completely over the top.
My entire childhood was spent cleaning the Church with my mother - we polished and cleaned everything on our hands and knees.
During all that time I must have missed the Bible passage that discusses how the clean and well mannered are only souls allowed admittance to the house of the Lord.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.