A New Jersey couple is blown away by how their Catholic Church is treating their son. Nicole and Jimmy LaCugna both grew up with a strong Catholic faith. They also sent their first son, Nicholas, through a faith-based pre-K program. So when their second son, eight-year-old Anthony, reached second-grade last fall, he was on track to receive his first Holy Communion in April. But their church said no.
The church told the parents that Anthony has autism and thus is unable to express the required contrition. However, when the media jumped on John Bambrick, pastor of St. Aloysius, he refused to reverse the decision but said that they are rethinking its policies and have been researching ways to assist children with cognitive disabilities so they can receive communion.
Anthony's father, Jimmy posted a lengthy message on Facebook saying, "This is something that I hope goes viral and these parties involved get their names called out for this disgraceful and disheartening act against a child who has a disability and wouldn't even be able to create a sin because he is one of the sweetest and innocent little boy someone would ever meet."
Source: NBC News