Church Can Exclude Autistic Boy: Judge Decides

[cappie]

A Minnesota judge has upheld the right of a local priest to exclude an autistic boy from a parish church for his "disruptive conduct."

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports Todd County District Judge Sally Ireland Robertson, upheld a restraining order, saying the parents of 13 year old Adam Race "have been unable to prevent their adult sized minor child from repeated incidents of unwanted and intrusive conduct" at St Joseph Catholic Church in Bertha.

Adam's mother, Carol Race, of Eagle Bend, said today that she found Robertson's ruling "very shocking."

"What does a judge have to say or not say about what is acceptable in a church service?" she added. "That comes down from the Vatican."

She added that St Joseph's priest, Fr Dan Walz, also has no say in such matters. "The Catholic Church takes a strong stand on including people with disabilities," she said. "This isn't a Father Dan church; this is a Catholic church."

Race said she is exploring whether to continue challenging the restraining order, either through the courts or within the church hierarchy.

Speaking on behalf of the parish this afternoon, Jane Marrin, director of pastoral planning for the St Cloud Diocese, said that St Joseph "is involved in mediation with the family, and it's the parish's hope that we can come to a mutually acceptable solution. That has been the goal all along for the parish, and the judge's ruling doesn't rule out."

Judge Robertson noted in her ruling that Adam, who is 188 cm and 102 kg, has "repeatedly, though unintentionally, disrupted church services and intruded on the solemnity, quietude, and privacy of the Mass in several ways."

These include making nonverbal noises, flailing his arms, urinating on the floor, hitting a smaller child, bumping into elderly parishioners, running into the church parking lot and starting a vehicle, pulling a teenage girl onto his lap and holding her there for 15 minutes and resisting his parents' efforts to restrain him.

[url="http://www.startribune.com/local/22764524.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:highlightModules:8"]http://www.startribune.com/local/22764524....hlightModules:8[/url]

[CatholicCid]

[quote]"What does a judge have to say or not say about what is acceptable in a church service?" she added. "That comes down from the Vatican."[/quote]

Am I wrong to assume she was the one who took it to court in the first place?
I admit, I had the same thought, but quite opposite her stance. It is the Church's decision, and it seems they made it already.

Edited July 1, 2008 by CatholicCid

[havok579257]

[quote name='cappie' post='1588513' date='Jul 1 2008, 06:24 PM']A Minnesota judge has upheld the right of a local priest to exclude an autistic boy from a parish church for his "disruptive conduct."

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports Todd County District Judge Sally Ireland Robertson, upheld a restraining order, saying the parents of 13 year old Adam Race "have been unable to prevent their adult sized minor child from repeated incidents of unwanted and intrusive conduct" at St Joseph Catholic Church in Bertha.

Adam's mother, Carol Race, of Eagle Bend, said today that she found Robertson's ruling "very shocking."

"What does a judge have to say or not say about what is acceptable in a church service?" she added. "That comes down from the Vatican."

She added that St Joseph's priest, Fr Dan Walz, also has no say in such matters. "The Catholic Church takes a strong stand on including people with disabilities," she said. "This isn't a Father Dan church; this is a Catholic church."

Race said she is exploring whether to continue challenging the restraining order, either through the courts or within the church hierarchy.

Speaking on behalf of the parish this afternoon, Jane Marrin, director of pastoral planning for the St Cloud Diocese, said that St Joseph "is involved in mediation with the family, and it's the parish's hope that we can come to a mutually acceptable solution. That has been the goal all along for the parish, and the judge's ruling doesn't rule out."

Judge Robertson noted in her ruling that Adam, who is 188 cm and 102 kg, has "repeatedly, though unintentionally, disrupted church services and intruded on the solemnity, quietude, and privacy of the Mass in several ways."

These include making nonverbal noises, flailing his arms, urinating on the floor, hitting a smaller child, bumping into elderly parishioners, running into the church parking lot and starting a vehicle, pulling a teenage girl onto his lap and holding her there for 15 minutes and resisting his parents' efforts to restrain him.

[url="http://www.startribune.com/local/22764524.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:highlightModules:8"]http://www.startribune.com/local/22764524....hlightModules:8[/url][/quote]


This is a freaking joke. First they kick out the mentally handicapped, next they can kick out the poor.

This is absolutly pathetic.

[havok579257]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1588524' date='Jul 1 2008, 06:42 PM']Am I wrong to assume she was the one who took it to court in the first place?
I admit, I had the same thought, but quite opposite her stance. It is the Church's decision, and it seems they made it already.[/quote]


Well the church is wrong in their stance.

[homeschoolmom]

No, they're not. There was another thread on here that went into further detail on the situation. The mother is unwilling to compromise even a little smidge.

[havok579257]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1588528' date='Jul 1 2008, 06:47 PM']No, they're not. There was another thread on here that went into further detail on the situation. The mother is unwilling to compromise even a little smidge.[/quote]


Well then all the facts are not presented for us. According to you, this article is only a half truth so we should remove it or put up all the facts about the incident.

[MissyP89]

HSM is right. The mother here was given quite a few other options for having her family participate in Catholic life, and she has refused them.

The Church isn't refusing the mentally handicapped. He [i]urinates on the floor[/i], and harasses people. How would you react if someone peed on the floor of your parish during Mass?

Noise is excusable. But physically hurting people and doing things like that is unsafe. I'd like to think they would do the same for anyone who acted that way, disabled or not.

As there's another thread on this, I'll end my thoughts here.

Edited July 1, 2008 by MissyP89

[CatholicCid]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588530' date='Jul 1 2008, 05:52 PM']Well then all the facts are not presented for us. According to you, this article is only a half truth so we should remove it or put up all the facts about the incident.[/quote]

Actually, I think this article has a nice, short sum up somewhat of a few incidents:
[quote]Judge Robertson noted in her ruling that Adam, who is 188 cm and 102 kg, has "repeatedly, though unintentionally, disrupted church services and intruded on the solemnity, quietude, and privacy of the Mass in several ways."

These include making nonverbal noises, flailing his arms, urinating on the floor, hitting a smaller child, bumping into elderly parishioners, running into the church parking lot and starting a vehicle, pulling a teenage girl onto his lap and holding her there for 15 minutes and resisting his parents' efforts to restrain him.[/quote]

Edited July 1, 2008 by CatholicCid

[havok579257]

[quote name='MissyP89' post='1588531' date='Jul 1 2008, 06:52 PM']HSM is right. The mother here was given quite a few other options for having her family participate in Catholic life, and she has refused them.

The Church isn't refusing the mentally handicapped. He [i]urinates on the floor[/i], and harasses people. How would you react if someone peed on the floor of your parish during Mass?

Noise is excusable. But physically hurting people and doing things like that is unsafe. I'd like to think they would do the same for anyone who acted that way, disabled or not.

As there's another thread on this, I'll end my thoughts here.[/quote]


But you can't treat someone handicapped the same as everyone else. If I peed on the floor, then its intentional. If someone who can't control it does, then its not the same. Same with children. We should not treat a 3 y/o the same as a 45 y/o.

Note: This does not directly reference the article.

[mortify]

What were some of the options offered to help this family participate in parish life?

[HisChildForever]

[quote]If I peed on the floor, then its intentional. If someone who can't control it does, then its not the same.[/quote]

Well, it didn't say that he wet his pants, so I'm thinking that he actually....you know.

Edited July 1, 2008 by HisChildForever

[IrishSalesian]

[quote name='havok579257' post='1588534' date='Jul 1 2008, 07:55 PM']We should not treat a 3 y/o the same as a 45 y/o.[/quote]

If they are mentally handicapped, then yes we should. I think we should have compassion.

Edited July 1, 2008 by IrishSalesian

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='mortify' post='1588541' date='Jul 1 2008, 07:07 PM']What were some of the options offered to help this family participate in parish life?[/quote]
Masses in their home and/or a live video feed so that the mother and son could participate in the mass from the fellowship hall to name a couple.

[havok579257]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1588545' date='Jul 1 2008, 07:17 PM']Well, it didn't say that he wet his pants, so I'm thinking that he actually....you know.[/quote]


Yeah but he's autistic which if you read up on the condition, it means he exists in his own world. He can't comprehend the world around him. Even if he did pee on the floor, it was not intentional. An example of autism is people with autism can't put together that a smile means someone's happy. It just doesn't connect for them.

So even if he dropped his pants and did pee, the likely hood he was doing it knowing not to do it is slim to none.

[havok579257]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1588575' date='Jul 1 2008, 08:04 PM']Masses in their home and/or a live video feed so that the mother and son could participate in the mass from the fellowship hall to name a couple.[/quote]


Definatly against the home masses or live feeds as with live feeds there is no communion. Which our mass is basically built around.

I'm not saying there are not other options, just saying I am not for either of those.

Many churches have cry rooms that no matter what happens in them, you can not hear outside the rooms. They could easily go in there and come out for communion. Cause you can hear stuff inside the prayer room, just not outside of it. Also inside the cry rooms there are a limited number of mom's with their babies in it, so it would be much easier for the mom and say an usher to control the childs abusive actions to others. The flayling arms and scream is fine, but an usher could be there to make sure the child does not strike other people inside the cry rooms.