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Noting Adam's size -- 6-foot-2 and about 225 pounds -- Robertson in her ruling that Adam has "repeatedly, though unintentionally, disrupted church services and intruded on the solemnity, quietude, and privacy of the mass in several ways" by 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.

OMG, i can't believe that this was even an issue. this boy should not be allowed to attend this church.

I'm actually curious as to what kind of therapy and/or training this kid has gone through. My two cousins are autistic teens (as well as a family friend who is barely verbal) and NEVER act this way in public (although they've all had extensive therapy).

The mother is quoted in the article saying, "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."

Then why the hell would you take it up with a judge instead of the Vatican?

It doesn't even have to go as far as the Vatican. The archbishop is the sovereign prince here.

At issue was a restraining order -- so I'm assuming it was the church that brought the situation to the attention of the court.

Re:Strib
'One analyst speculates senior debt holders signed off on the junior debt holders getting screwed. The screwees could wind up with equity in the struggling paper'

My prediction, Max owns the Strib within two years.

Then why the hell would you take it up with a judge instead of the Vatican?

Clearly, this is a case of asking dad when mom says no.

i see your point. but i tend to believe the church in this case over 'the other side' ie, the parents.
I'm sure that these stories were not made up, as there were likely numerous witnesses inside the church during some of these episodes.

But these offenses, if they did in fact happen, jeopardize the rest of the congregation, and are much too serious to let this child continue attending the church with the normal mass.
There is no good answer at this point, as home-schooling him in bible hoopla sort of nullifies the 'community' aspect of a congregation.

I would have thought that with relgious people, often claiming to be so caring and accepting, that a simple google search for 'MN churches for autistic people' would have at leat returned one result.

well, we haven't heard the versions of any of the other witnesses. Just those of the family and the priest.

For example, the original church filing gave the impression that he was urinating during mass by whipping it out, and peeing on the people in front of him, a la that Calvin sticker. The family claims it's an incontinence problem, much like several elderly parishoners have.

I guess, what it comes down to for me is, Jesus didn't spend much time ministering to the wealthy, and otherwise well off. He spent his time and energy ministering to the poorest, and sickest of people.

And I just really haven't seen anything that leads me to believe that the church is doing right by this kid with respect to that example.

Did you read the article and not the post? And there was a GMA story on it the next day.

It doesn't even matter if the kid was autistic. The kid wasn't secured and wasn't following FAA regulations. The attendant told the mom several times and then tried to secure the child. If the mom knew that her son would freak out, she should have secured the seatbelt herself.

Yes indeed I read the link you provided. They should have been removed when the meltdown reached critical. But there is a right way to deal with the autistic and another way to deal with them so that they go from placid to volcanic in no time flat.

Considering most kids don't even like church (or any sort of situation where they have to stay still), I'm guessing this kid didn't really enjoy church as much his mother thinks, and would benefit more from just hanging out with his mother and playing than being forced to sit/stand/sit/stand/etc. for an hour while people talk and he gets bored.

So organized religion is to blame?
Yes.