#7-year-old boy with autism gets kicked out of New Jersey baptism

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Julia Vicidomini said her son with autism, Nicky, 7, was kicked out of his sister’s baptism
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A 7-year-old nonverbal New Jersey boy with autism was kicked out of his little sister’s church baptism — because he was playing with a ball.

The child’s upset mom, Julia Vicidomini, wrote on Facebook that the Catholic priest who booted her son then refused to apologize, arguing that the little boy had been a distraction.

“My husband told [the clergyman] that he thought a priest, of all people, would be more sympathetic to a child with special needs, that he was completely unprofessional and ruined our celebration,” Vicidomini said.

“The Bible speaks of welcoming all God’s children! Where is the compassion and plain human decency?”

Vicidomini said the baptism took place Saturday at Christ the King Church in Hillside in Union County, where she has attended since she was a child.

“When I confirmed the date of the event, I was told it would, in fact, be a private celebration for just our family, no one else,” the mom wrote. “With this information, I felt more comfortable taking Nicky as he doesn’t do well with a full mass and large group settings.

“My mother in-law was staying close to our boy while we were front and center for the baptism,” she said.

“Yes, [Nicky] was playing with a toy where he should not have been, however, the way the priest kicked him out of the church was completely rude and disrespectful,” Vicidomini wrote.

“I tried to explain that Nicky has autism and doesn’t understand. We finished the ceremony, put the kids in the car and then [her husband] Marc went back in to speak to the priest.

“He explained that our son has autism and he is non-verbal and doesn’t understand. The priest then began to raise his voice and tell my husband that he should not have been playing in church and that it was a distraction to him trying to perform the baptismal ceremony,” Vicidomini wrote.

She said that when her husband asked for an apology, “instead of apologizing [the priest] began to try to justify the reason he kicked our child out, again saying he was distracting him.”

The priest was not named, but Vicidomini added, “(Father Luke, I’d like to speak to your manager. ?? Dear God, you’ve got a reckless one down here.) ? #Voicefor Nicholas.”

The Archdiocese of Newark responded in a statement to local ABC-TV affiliate Channel 7, “We offer our heartfelt apologies for the abrupt behavior demonstrated by one of our pastors on Saturday during a private family ceremony.

“The pastor was unaware that the sibling playing in a nearby candle room during the ceremony has autism.

“The pastor did not understand the child’s behavior, he felt unprepared to respond appropriately, and his reaction to the situation was not pastoral. He acknowledges and is regretful for the mistake.

“Our Archdiocesan Office for Pastoral Ministry with Persons with Disabilities is in touch with the family to support healing and moving forward together, and we are working with all to come to a pastoral resolution and to ensure that there is greater awareness in working with individuals with disabilities and their families.”