This is just another example of abuse of children by the catholic church. Why not pay for behavioural support so the boy can come to mass? I am sure the mother of this child has no desire to have her son upset or hurt anyone so she should be helped to help her son. He should be valued not discriminated against for something that god has chosen to give him. I have son who used to self-mutilate and have horrible aggressive outbursts but with behaviour intervention we have been able to identify any triggers to aggressive or self-injurious behaviour and to de-escalate and prevent 99% of them. Even non-disabled children can have a melt down in church every now and again. Why should a teenager, who probably has a mental age a lot lower than his chronological age be expected to behave better than an average child without a disability. Support this family, do not abuse them, give them love and practical help, don’t abandon them. Don’t isolate this vulnerable family. If the priest bans this boy then he has no moral right to hold mass and he is a hypocrite of the worst kind. the pope should replace him with a compassionate priest who isn’t such a bastard. Sincerely, Caroline, Sydney Australia.

Our Lord said “let the children come unto Me” … not just the “normal” children, or the quiet children, ALL the children. Autistic children and their families need pastoral support and the sacraments to persevere, yet are largely ignored and/or ostracized by their parishes. This cannot change until we see these individuals not as the world sees, but through the eyes of faith.

Lord, when did we see you as a shouting, urinating, disruptive, autistic child and love you and welcome you?

As you did unto the least of these, you did unto Me.

Ms. Reyes, I pray that the Lord places love and compassion in your heart for those afflicted by autism. The visitor among us may be an angel, or the Lord Himself.

1 in 144 children are autistic
1 in 77 boys are autistic

Sincerely,

Mother of Two Autistic Children Who Attend Daily Mass

I feel bad for the family and the parish both. A 225 pound boy that does not have the understanding of his own strength can be a dangerous thing and the boy has assulted (bit vicously) a girl already. As I understand they priest offered different options such as a private mass. You cant put other people at risk. Its sad but true

> What would you do?….you make the choice. Don’t look for a punch
> line, there isn’t one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you
> have made the same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with
> learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered
> a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After
> extolling the school and its
>
> dedicated staff, he offered a question: “When not interfered with
> by outside influences, everything nature does is done with
> perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children
> do. He cannot understan d things as other children do. Where is the
> natural order of things in my son?”
>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. “I believe that when a child like Shay, who
> is mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an
> opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it
> comes in the way other people treat that child.”
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a
>
> park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay a sked,
> “Do you think they’ll let me play?” Shay’s father knew that most of
> the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the
> father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it
> would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence
> to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked
> (not expecting much) if
>
> Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said,
> “We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
> guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in
> the ninth inning.”
>> Subject: Two Choices
>

> Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile,
> put on a
>
> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and
> warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being
> accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a
> few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth
> inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even
> though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be
> in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his
> father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth
> inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases
> loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was
> scheduled to be next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance
> to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone
> knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even
> know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
>
> However, as Shay stepped up to the
>
> plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting
> winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps
> to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. Th e
> first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher
> again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards
> Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow
> ground ball right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder
> and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay
> would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s
> head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and
> both teams started yelling, “Shay, run to first! Run to first!”
> Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to
> first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, “Run to second, run to second!” Catching his
> breath, Shay awkwa rdly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling
> to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second
> base, the right fielder had the ball … the smallest guy on their
> team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He
> could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but
> he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally
> threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head. Shay ran
> toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled
> the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, “Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay”
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help
> him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted,
> “Run to third! Shay, run to third!”
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the
> spectators, were on their feet screaming, “Shay, run home! Run
> home!” Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as
> the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
>
> “That day”, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
> face, “the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love
> and humanity into this world”.
>
> Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having
> never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and
> coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero
> of the day!

> A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it’s
> least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
>
>
> May your day, be a Shay Day.

“Life is like a baseball game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,
some times it rains.” – Ebbie Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh / Bull Duram

If you were blessed with a “normal” functioning child get on your knees and praise the Lord…If you were blessed with a special needs child its because God needed someone strong enough to walk thru the fire with this child so get on your knees and praise the Lord! I will go thru the fire with my son until the day i die, God gave him to me for a reason and Im not gonna let Him down…never said it would be easy but He promises to be there…Cant wait to see the faces of those who discriminate or are calious and unkind lacking compassion when we get to Heaven and my son is healed and whole…oh wait…those people probably wont be there now will they??