The Rev. Daniel Walz, a Minnesota Catholic priest banned an autistic boy from Church. Yes, the priest issued a restraining order against the parents of a severely autistic 13-year-old boy, Adam Race in an effort to keep him from attending the church in Bertha on Sundays.

The priest alleged that Race's unruly behavior endangers others who attend the Church of St. Joseph, and the Church officials claimed he was too disruptive. Rev. Daniel Walz said, “the Race’s son, who weighs at least 225 pounds and is more than 6 feet tall has a disruptive and dangerous behavior.”

The restraining order was given to Carol Race, the mother of the autistic boy, when she tried to attend mass at the Church of St. Joseph, where she usually went on Sundays. Todd County Sheriff Pete Mikkelson appeared in her driveway to warn her she would be taken into police custody if she and her son entered St. Joseph.

In the order Walz stated, Adam struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly parishioners over when he hastily exits the church, spits and sometimes urinates in church and fights when he is being restrained. He alleged that one time Adam assaulted a girl by pulling her onto his lap and, during Easter mass, ran to the parking lot and got into two vehicles, starting them and revving the engine

Walz wrote, "There were people directly in front of the car who could have been injured or killed if he had put the car in gear.” He stated that Adam's parents have to sit on him and sometimes tie his hands and feet to get control of him.  

Race’s parents, who were to appear in court on Monday for violating the order, stated that the order was discriminatory. Carol Race said, "He said that we did not discipline our son. 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."

Completely refuting the priest’s allegations, Carol Race stated that Adam may be noisy at times, but they usually sit in the back of the church and try to stay quiet. She also said that the restraining order amounts to outright discrimination. She said her son makes spitting faces but doesn't spit and acknowledged he has occasional problems with incontinence. She told that she and her husband sit on Adam because their weight calms him down, which is why he pulled the girl onto him.

The priest’s attitude towards the child’s disorder raised protests among autism advocates. Pat Mellentin, executive director of the Arc of Minnesota, which advocates for the disabled said, “In most cases, families and churches do find a solution that works for them. And in this case, unfortunately, that didn't happen.”

Brad Trahan, the founder of the RT Autism Awareness Foundation in Rochester, who has asked the bishop of St. Cloud to rescind the restraining order, said, "It's unfathomable and concerns me that we've taken a situation with special needs and we're making it into the criminal matter.”