by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
A Minnesota judge has concurred with a local Catholic pastor that an autistic boy can be excluded from services because of his repeatedly “disruptive conduct.”
The case involves 13 year old Adam Race, a six-foot, 225 pound teen with autism whose parents were unable to restrain him from unwanted conduct during Masses at the Church of St. Joseph in Bertha, Minnesota.
Father Daniel Walz, pastor of St. Joseph’s took out a restraining order on the child in May after attempts to mediate the situation with the Race family failed and they continued to bring Adam to church after being asked not to do so.
Adam’s mother, Carol Race, who was cited by police for defying the restraining order, appeared in court on June 27 when Todd County District Judge Sally Ireland Robertson handed down her ruling.
Judge Robertson ruled that even though Adam “did not specifically intend to harass anyone,” his conduct at church services was “objectively unreasonable” and included “repeated, disruptive or distracting acts, sounds, and gestures.”
According to parishioners, these actions included 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.
Carol Race told the Minnesota-Star Tribune that she was shocked by the judge’s ruling.
“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 Father 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 is exploring whether to continue challenging the restraining order, either through the courts or within the church hierarchy.
Speaking on behalf of the parish, 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 this out.”
The controversial case has raised the ire of autism awareness groups, such as the RT (Reese Trahan) Autism Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota.
“Is this the kind of road and precedents we want to set our kinds on with special needs in the future?” asked Brad Trahan, the father of the eight year old autistic boy after whom the foundation is named.
“I totally understand that the church environment in this case has to be safe. But the bottom line is one out of 150 births includes an autistic child and as a society we have to deal with it. We have to be able to go out to church and restaurants and events as one family.”
He added: “There are no winners in this situation. The church doesn’t win. The family doesn’t win, and Adam doesn’t win.”
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The day Mark and Beth Matthews were told their toddler son had autism, they began a strange but wonderful journey filled with sorrow, joy, gratitude, and above all, the grace of God. Hear their incredible journey in “Autism: Challenges, Graces and Joys” available in our store at http://womenofgrace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=168
