tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1750779963562890458.post6129264414846867575..comments2023-06-22T03:42:43.772-07:00Comments on Restoration Heart: Banned from Church by Law for AutismAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01309831661465335107noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1750779963562890458.post-90272008766341603542008-05-20T07:11:00.000-07:002008-05-20T07:11:00.000-07:00This isn't a kid just making a few noises. Accord...This isn't a kid just making a few noises. According to the AP story, <I>“Adam struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly parishioners over…, spits and sometimes urinates in church and fights when he is being restrained. He also… assaulted a girl by pulling her onto his lap.” When he started two cars in the parking lot, “people could have been injured or killed.”</I><BR/><BR/>The church has tried to accommodate, but the behavior has only become more dangerous. It’s not the boy’s fault, but his own parents cannot always control him.<BR/><BR/>I doubt that even Jesus would condone the enabling of such dangerous and disruptive behavior -- posing great risks to others and self -- in the name of “acceptance”. This is sloppy agape.<BR/><BR/>Someone can be seriously injured. The pastor has definite moral and legal responsibilities to protect everyone from harm. If some child or elderly person were injured, there would be a major lawsuit. “I was practicing inclusion” would not be a defense for reckless endangerment.<BR/><BR/>This isn't general discrimination against all handicapped or autistic people. This is a case of a particular individual with dangerously out-of-control behavior. There is such a thing as rational discrimination; Adam will never be allowed to drive either.<BR/><BR/>In a perfect world, everyone would be welcomed everywhere. But if I had a highly communicable disease, say TB, I’d have no right to mingle in large crowds where I posed a serious threat. And I think Jesus would agree, notwithstanding that he loved everyone.<BR/><BR/>My right to inclusion ends where your rights to safety begin. Is it unreasonable to ask Adam’s parents to accommodate everyone else’s rights to public safety?redtownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05411040223384130560noreply@blogger.com