Family looks to resolve stalemate at parish that barred autistic son

Published: 2008-07-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The mother of an autistic boy who has been barred from attending Mass at a rural Minnesota parish said she was shocked by a judge's June 27 decision to uphold the ban and will continue working to overturn what she considers a violation of canon law. Carol Race, whose 13-year-old son Adam was the target of a restraining order sought by St. Joseph Church in Bertha, Minn., in May, said the case should have been based on the laws of the church rather than the parish's concern over legal liability. Race expressed concern about the judge's reasoning for her ruling, saying that any action out of the ordinary by her son was thought to be disruptive. "The fact that he made noise was enough for her to say a restraining order was justified," Race said July 2 in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service. "Asking Adam not to make noises is like asking you or me not to breathe." Speaking on behalf of the parish, Jane Marrin, director of pastoral planning for the St. Cloud Diocese, said the judge's ruling does not end the search for a solution satisfactory to both the parish and the Race family. "The mediation is continuing," she said. "That's what our focus is."

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