Priest excludes an autistic boy from a religious ceremony: "He must take his First Communion on his own so he doesn't disturb the others"

Growing up, we face more and more challenges. It is part of life and one has to learn to deal with society at large from a young age: dealing with conflict is just one specific example of this. The parents of a boy with autism had a similar "unpleasantness" to deal with, and this is their story.

What is very unusual about this story, however, it that it involved the church.

via Ground.news

Lawrence OP/Flickr - Not the actual photo

In a parish in Silvi, Teramo, Italy, a family was excited about their son's upcoming confirmation. After doing all the necessary studies, the time for taking First Communion had arrived for the young man.

However, the parish priest who was to preside over this ceremony objected to giving communion to the boy along with the other participants: "He cannot attend in the ceremony together with all the other children because he could ruin it for everyone".

The priest then proposed to give the boy his first communion at the back of the chapel, some distance away from the main building. The boy's parents were stunned and initially, did not know what to say or do. In the end, they all walked out.

MART PRODUCTION/Pexels - Not the actual photo

The offended parents took their son to another church and he received his first communion without any issues.

But this was not enough for the parents who were understandably indignant about the incident: "He is a very sweet boy and has a good relationship with his entire catechism class: they protect and love him. They know he is special and he's not a violent child who creates problems," the father said. Naturally, this incident sparked heated controversy.

Later, the priest who had "refused" to give the child the sacraments "defended" himself: "We do not deny the Eucharist to anyone. We have often had special needs children attend the ceremonies and there have never been problems. But, in this case, during the rehearsals, the boy disrupted the event and he made a mess. He even knocked candles from the altar whilst screaming".

But the boy's parents stated this candle incident was just an innocent accident. But the family's new priest had the following comforting words for the upset parents: "It's true, dealing with a special needs child is not easy. But the hugs and love he gives you both is like experiencing heaven on earth."

In the end, the young boy had his first communion and his father later said: "The whole thing was very upsetting: our son had to give up celebrating together with all his friends". What do you think of this story?