Pope Benedict XVI has been urged to act on autism after Adam Race, a 13 year old boy with severe autism was banned from the Roman Catholic Church of St.Joseph in Bertha, Minnesota by his priest Fr.Daniel Walz. According to court documents, Fr. Daniel Walz took out a temporary restraining order on the boy with autism and his mother Carol Race on the grounds of disruptive behaviour.' They were threatened with arrest by the Sheriff of Todd County if they entered the church for Mass.

Autism Campaigners have urged Pope Benedict XVI to provide guidelines to the Roman Catholic Church on how to deal with children and adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome in the light of the banning of a 13 year old boy with autism, Adam Race from the Church of St.Joseph in Bertha, Minnesota.