Minnesota Church Bans Autistic Boy

A Catholic church in Bertha, Minn. has filed a restraining order against two parents to keep their 13-year-old son, who suffers from severe autism, out of mass because of the tremendous distraction and possible injury he poses for other worshippers, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

The boy stands 6 feet tall and weighs 225 pounds, and his parents, aware of his disability and tendency to act out, sat the family – which includes four other non-autistic children – in the very back of the church during worship, attempting to minimize distraction and risk of injury to other attendees. They reportedly had made this attempt since 1996, when they began going to the Church of St. Joseph. But for the leadership, this still wasn’t enough. The priest, the Rev. Daniel Walz, visited the family's home last summer and suggested the family stop bringing their son to mass.

Church officials have said that, at that time, they made a number of alternative suggestions for worship for the family, but the family refused to accept them and continued attending church. Eventually, Waltz sent a letter to family, officially requested that Adam not attend worship anymore.

In light of the restraining order, which was issued Saturday, May 10, the family maintains they will disregard the legal request because it’s discriminatory. In fact, on the following day – Mother’s Day – the family attended church as normal. A police officer then cited the mother the next day for violating the restraining order, and she appeared in court this week.

The family is receiving the support of autism and disability advocates from across the country. They claim that parishioners had never complained to them about their son being disruptive until after Waltz started to vocalize his concerns to church members.

“[The priest] said that we did not discipline our son,” the mother told the Star-Tribune. “He said that our son was physically out of control and a danger to everyone at church. I can't discipline him out of his autism, and I think that's what our priest is expecting.”

Bertha, which has a population of 740, is 85 miles northwest of St. Cloud, Minn., and 104 miles southeast of Fargo, N.D.