So much for Bring me the poor people, the crippled, the blind, and the lame

[sandgk]

Catholic Church Bars Autistic Child from Services:

Mom Told She'd Be Sent to Jail if She Brought Autistic Son to Church

A Catholic priest has filed a restraining order against the parents of a severely autistic 13-year-old boy in an effort to keep him from attending the church in Bertha on Sundays.
The Rev. Daniel Walz alleges that Adam Race's unruly behavior endangers others who attend the Church of St. Joseph.
Race's parents have ignored the restraining order, calling it discriminatory, and Carol Race, Adam's mother, was cited by police and is due to appear in court on Monday for violating the order.
"He said that we did not discipline our son. He said that our son was physically out of control and a danger to everyone at church," Carol Race said. "I can't discipline him out of his autism, and I think that's what our priest is expecting."
Carol Race said it all started last June, when Walz and a church trustee visited the Races at their home address the behavior of Adam, who stands taller than six feet and weighs more than 225 pounds.
...
Walz said the boy's behavior worsened over time, telling authorities that Adam has been "extremely disruptive and dangerous" since last summer.
According to Walz, Adam struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly parishioners over when he hastily exits the church, spits and sometimes urinates in church and fights when he is being restrained.
He also one time assaulted a girl by pulling her onto his lap and, during Easter mass, ran to the parking lot and got into two vehicles, starting them and revving the engine, Walz alleged.

Pretty messy situation there.

 

[Gatorubet]

Over six feet, 225 pounds at only 13.

Struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly
parishioners over when he hastily exits the church,
spits and sometimes urinates in church and fights
when he is being restrained...

Can you say.....Penn State early commitment?

Also:

He also one time assaulted a girl by pulling her onto his lap and, during Easter mass, ran to the parking lot and got into two vehicles, starting them and revving the engine, Walz alleged.

What the Hell? Anybody in that Parish take their keys out of the ignition?

 

[Taosman]

Damn butt disease spreaders!

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Can't say I blame the church, but yeah - messy situation all around.

 

[Taosman]

Over six feet, 225 pounds at only 13.

Struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly
parishioners over when he hastily exits the church,
spits and sometimes urinates in church and fights
when he is being restrained...

Can you say.....Penn State early commitment?

Sounds like a long snapper for sure!

 

[Muck]

Leviticus 21:17-23

17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long,
19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,
20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch.
21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy;
23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’”

 

[sandgk]

Leviticus 21:17-23

17 ?Speak to Aaron, saying: ?No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long,
19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,
20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch.
21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy;
23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.??

This would be great if Catholics adhered by the Old Testament - which they don't.

 

[Folanator]

A eunuch? Seriously? That's where I draw the line.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Timmay!

 

[BUCKYLE]

The day a church denies entrance to ANYONE is the day that church should lose it's tax free status. I mean, if they are picking and choosing who can come in...it's pretty much a Moose Lodge with crackers and wine instead of beer and peanuts.

 

[JCOSU86]

So I can go into a church, interrupt the service, start harassing people and if they do anything about it they lose their tax-exempt status?

Bullshit. No one has the right to fuck up the times of others. If he or she cannot be controlled no puedes entrar.

 

[Muck]

So I can go into a church, interrupt the service, start harassing people and if they do anything about it they lose their tax-exempt status?

Bullshit. No one has the right to fuck up the times of others. If he or she cannot be controlled no puedes entrar.

All sarcasm aside I gotta agree.

If the kid was as uncontrollable as the article says then the church has every right to take action to protect the parishishners.

Sounds like the parents need a foot in their ass.

 

[mooktarr]

The mother should know better than to bring a disruptive child to church. Or at least left as soon as he started misbehaving. The church has to protect its members from harm and itself from lawsuits for injury and damages.

 

[Taosman]

The day a church denies entrance to ANYONE is the day that church should lose it's tax free status. I mean, if they are picking and choosing who can come in...it's pretty much a Moose Lodge with crackers and wine instead of beer and peanuts.

Yes! Absolutely! But, common sense must prevail and the situation can be handled better on both sides.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I'm the parent of an autistic child who has largely recovered, but he was once severely autistic.

In any given city, the parents of autistic children know most of the other parents of autistic children because your kids all get therapy etc. from/at the same places. I have come to know a few dozen parents of autistic children; and I can tell you that having an autistic child changes people, especially the mothers.

By the time a child is a teenager, if he is as severely autistic as the child in this story, the parents have a very distorted view of reality. Their child is with them all the time because he cannot be left alone and there are very few caregivers who will deal with them by this point. After a dozen years of this they truly become detached and unaware of what a living nightmare their son creates for those around them. That living nightmare has become what they call "normal".

I've seen it time and again in the parents of autistic children. It breaks my heart to see the young, vibrant mothers in the support group that my wife attends and compare them to the middle-aged, lifeless shells that are the mothers of children just a few years older than theirs.

The sad truth is, the child in question is on the verge of institutionalization. It is not uncommon for autistic children to be unusually large and strong, because an increased level of testosterone is seen in a significant percentage of them (autism is a medical condition as much as a mental one). The sadder reality is that his parents appear to be in such denial that his institutionalization will only come after he has injured one of them to the point where they can't care for him anymore.

Yes, this story is tragic. The kids life is a living hell that no neurotypical (non-autistic person) can imagine. His parents' lives can scarcely be called lives. The denial that they are in that prevents them from seeing that they have no right to inflict this on others is part and parcel of being the parent of an autistic teenager.

I have seen this in people that I really care about; and if not for my son's miracle recovery this might have been my future in just 8 years. To say that I empathize with their situation more than most people would be an understatement. But the tragedy is their own and should remain their own. The church is within their rights to maintain a safe environment for their parishioners.