Boy with cerebral palsy denied First Communion

[Anonymous]

The priest had never even met the family. I don't get it. I thought the Church was having trouble getting members. First a lesbian, now a disabled boy, can't get communion. Why????

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/boy-cerebral-palsy-denied-communion-texas-catholic-church/story?id=13461019

P.S. I am NOT a Catholic Church hater. I just do not understand why anyone would behave this way toward a child.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a priest went rogue. He'll be given a stern talking to, and if this goes viral, he'll be suspended.

At least in the lesbian-denied-communion story, a case could be made that the woman was living in a state of mortal sin, but the "not even being at the mom's graveside service" thing seems 100% indefensible.

Here? If the kid was going through the classes, etc., it seems cruel to deny the kid that since there's no rule about mental capacity.

[Anonymous]

This is ridiculous by even the Church's standards. The story did not discuss his intellectual capacity, but typically Cerebral Palsy is not a mentally incapacitating condition. My brainiac friend with CP will more than amply demonstrate this.

But second is that while the Church expects preparation for First Communion, we all know that we are giving First Communion to second graders, and they can't really internalize what is going on in the way that a grownup does. Jesus will not care. He wants to welcome the children, and he is friend to the sick.

Hopefully the archbishop will step in and rectify this. I expect quick action.

[Anonymous]

The catholic church is just despicable. It seems they can't judge people quickly enough anymore.

[Anonymous]

Catholic church teaches that communion should only be given to those who understand that the host is the body of Christ. Could this kid understand that? I don't know...clearly many many many people with cerebral palsy can understand it, but the priest said he thought the kid couldn't. The statements in the article from the family didn't directly contradict that, so we don't know. If the kid can understand then the priest was wrong. If he can't understand then the priest did the right thing. Without more information I don't know how to judge it.

[Anonymous]

I don't even understand this. In order to prepare for a child's First Holy Communion they attend church classes so the priest would already know this family. It sounds like the mother "prepared" him for his First Holy Communion and not a class? Maybe they never spoke with the priest about how they had prepared him? You can't just randomly decide that one Sunday your child is prepared and will do their First Holy Communion.

We have been members of a number of parishes around the country (and are some of the freaks who go to the local church even during vacation) and I have never seen communion denied to a handicapped person or even to a mentally handicapped person.

Something is weird here.

[Anonymous]

I pity the Catholic Church. It seems the men who run the church have forgotten what Christ's word is. They shelter abusers, pederasts, pedophiles. They have forgotten Christian compassion and have succumbed to human Hubris. They believe they and their word is more important than Christ's as they choose to reinterpret His word. In a truly Christian world, a woman should not be denied communion at her mother's funeral with such a public rejection (that was heartless and cruel and I do hope they suspend that man from the priesthood) nor should this boy have been denied his communion. Whether you agree with denying the woman communion, if he was going to do so, he should have spoken to her before the service and let her know, but to do so when she was in line for communion, in front of the congregation was just un-Christian, sadistic and cruel. And then to refuse to go to the graveside. Why would you punish the mother's soul for the sins of the daughter. It was completely inappropriate behavior for a representative of the church. This boy should not have been denied his communion, not should have been denoted "sick" by being offered the annointing of the sick. The Catholic church is in need of a cleansing of the temple. They need to remove those who have forgotten the true teachings of Christ.

[Anonymous]

Whoa -- you have not a clue about the mother's soul. A priest was there but regardless the soul isn't punished by the daughter's sin. WTF is that about? The priest HAS been reprimanded and has been removed from ministering. The church pointed out very quickly that he was wrong. Did you miss all that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't even understand this. In order to prepare for a child's First Holy Communion they attend church classes so the priest would already know this family. It sounds like the mother "prepared" him for his First Holy Communion and not a class? Maybe they never spoke with the priest about how they had prepared him? You can't just randomly decide that one Sunday your child is prepared and will do their First Holy Communion.

We have been members of a number of parishes around the country (and are some of the freaks who go to the local church even during vacation) and I have never seen communion denied to a handicapped person or even to a mentally handicapped person.

Something is weird here.

Actually, she said that she was "helping" to prepare him. Which is understandable considering he was special needs and probably doesn't go places without her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whoa -- you have not a clue about the mother's soul. A priest was there but regardless the soul isn't punished by the daughter's sin. WTF is that about? The priest HAS been reprimanded and has been removed from ministering. The church pointed out very quickly that he was wrong. Did you miss all that?

Yes, link please?

[Anonymous]

This is the Church's doctrine:

The Catholic Church provides parishes resources to specifically help them incorporate people with disabilities.

“To exclude members of the parish from these celebrations of the life of the Church, even by passive omission, is to deny the reality of that community,” according to the Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities.

“Realistic provision must be made for persons with disabilities to participate fully in the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations such as the sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Anointing of the Sick. The experiences and needs of individuals with disabilities vary, as do those of any group of people. For some with significant disabilities, special liturgies may be appropriate,” the USCCB statement said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catholic church teaches that communion should only be given to those who understand that the host is the body of Christ. Could this kid understand that? I don't know...clearly many many many people with cerebral palsy can understand it, but the priest said he thought the kid couldn't. The statements in the article from the family didn't directly contradict that, so we don't know. If the kid can understand then the priest was wrong. If he can't understand then the priest did the right thing. Without more information I don't know how to judge it.

That's not entirely accurate. The church has given more guidance than this and that guidance was clearly not followed in its entirety.
Skip to the catholic section on this link.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_and_the_developmentally_disabled

[Anonymous]

Wondering why the OP felt the need to drag up a year-old article.

There's not a lot of useful information here--the family is complaining to the media to get attention is what it looks like. If the mom really wanted her son to receive first communion--a celebration that most parishes require kids to take two years of classes to prepare for--she should have discussed thei situation with their priest and parish's religious education staff. Saying that the mother prepared him is t good enough.

[Anonymous]

Also, funny how there aren't any follow up news stories anywhere, just this local news article repeated all over the web. This family was just out to make the priest and the church look bad because they failed in their responsibility to their kid and their parish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, funny how there aren't any follow up news stories anywhere, just this local news article repeated all over the web. This family was just out to make the priest and the church look bad because they failed in their responsibility to their kid and their parish.

the priests actions stand on their own.

The constant refrain is getting old. The lesbian was setting up the priest at her mothers funeral, the Georgetown student was setting up Rush, and now this.

No these peoe are doing things that are important to them. How you or your religious representatives deal with that is their responsibility.