Catholicism

[Greeni]

This sounds crazy but ds 9 with sn has told me God spoke to him and now he’s a catholic and wants a bible and to go to church.
Literally nobody is religious in our lives, no idea where it’s come from but I’d like to support him on his own path and help him.
Having googled I’m more confused than ever so would appreciate any help or advice.

Take him to a Catholic church?

Start going to a Catholic Church and see how he gets on.

I'd take him to a church that has a good children's ministry programme, with an active, bible based Sunday school. I wouldn't necessarily expect a Catholic church would provide that.

Most Catholic Churches have Children's Liturgy on a Sunday. Totally bible based. Lots of Catholic Churches in my area also do messy church once a month.

Thank you, I thought about church but nobody in my family has ever been to one so it’s a bit nerve wracking.
It is weirdly specific, he doesn’t go to school or watch anything religious so I’m not sure where he’s heard or seen it. He’s been talking about God for a few years and I’ve tried explaining that there are lots of religions and different beliefs but he’s severely autistic so I’ve not really gone very in-depth about any religion really as I thought he’d just be confused.
I’ll order him a bible

As PP have said, give your local church a shout. One of our 3 masses is child-centered, with a good SN experience (led by school staff).

Churches are pretty welcoming places for non believers anyway...there would be no harm in taking him down to see the building for a visit if you don't feel comfortable going to a service. Alot of them are open during the day when services aren't on. Being autistic, he might like the stillness in there when there aren't many people around. A bible sounds like a good plan.

Well Catholicism is the original form of Christianity. So it’s possible he has read that somewhere.
Contact your local Catholic Church or just go and have a look.

If you decide to go with Catholicism then I believe there should be a group within your diocese to support people with additional needs. You could ask a parish priest or contact the diocese. You could try visiting a bigger church with him to let him have a look around. Mostly I'd just not get overly worried about doing it right. Priests are very used to non-believers visiting their churches for various reasons. If nothing else comes of it he'll have a new experience.

This sounds crazy but ds 9 with sn has told me God spoke to him

It is very worrying. You should be more concerned with this rather than pandering to his whims. He needs to be told, in an age and ability appropriate way, that he imagined it and it didn't really happen.

Also, try explaining in an age appropriate way, why the catholic church is the last place a young child should be heading for, in light of what's gone on inside it over many years.

try explaining in an age appropriate way, why the catholic church is the last place a young child should be heading for

You could find awful people and horrific things happening in every religion, every area of the earth. I’m not going to put him off exploring faith because of bad history.
I’m not pandering to him, I want to help him find his own path in life and despite me not believing in God I don’t want to dictate that he’s not allowed to explore that if he wants to. Whether it be his conscience, inner voice, a dream or whatever I don’t think God speaking to him is worrying at all.

@Lifecraft the Catholic Church has done a huge amount of safeguarding work in the last ten years and now has some of the most rigorous policies around. Please keep your out dated and wrong comments to your self.

A Catholic church would be perfect for an autistic child as it's so heavily routine based.

Lifecraft often argues against religion and in my opinion this goes against community guidelines for MN

@WelshCake2019

Which guideline does it go against exactly?

Lifecraft is an evangelical atheist so ignore.

Perhaps try and find some good childrens resources online. He might enjoy the bible project.

Bible stories are interesting regardless of faith.

I think churches are quite variable on their relevance to children. Tend to bore them solid (that might be mine and my dc experience). It can't hurt to take him.

If you are going to go to mass it would be a good idea to read up first. Even just a Wikipedia entry on it or theres probably tonnes of "what happens at Catholic mass" explainers online. I think theres a lot of standing up sitting down saying things from mass sheets and hymn books it makes me anxious and I'm an insider!!

You can get children's missals on Amazon cheaply. They talk about mass and the different prayers etc. The good news is once you get the hang of it its the same regardless of place.

Being a Catholic means being baptised then eventually taking communion. Id gently explain that you can't just rock up and be Catholic you need to learn about the faith.

Dont get me wrong Im all for spirituality and I think belief is really important dimension to life. The real positive here is your ds is attempting to communicate with God. That can be a search lots of adults haven't yet started on! Is he a very mature child?

Christian beliefs can be very positive to have a framework for thinking of and helping others.

My son with SN is quite focused on faith - and Cathoic faith. As mentioned by a previous poster he likes the regularity and routine and I would add the theatre (the Mass never changes - staying the same in minute detail). He also likes Bible stories I think in the same way as he likes history such as stories of victorians. I would just say that he can become very absorbed and it is not always easy. I would also say that from my limited experience Catholic Churches arn't always supportive and understanding of special needs - choose your Church carefully. If you get a welcoming Priest then great - but they arn't always that understanding of difference - writing this as a cradle (if somewhat lapsed) Catholic and it was the local Priests total lack of understanding with regard to my son which finally drove me away.

If he’s particularly interested in the Bible, be aware that Catholicism is not particularly Bible-focused in the way that some other denominations are.

Perhaps for balance and perspective take him to your local mosque, Sikh temple, and synagogue? See which one he gets on best with.

Why did he decide he is now a catholic? Is it because that’s the only religion he heard about from friends or something and presumed that must be what he is as he heard voices that must be God and God is associated with Catholicism?

You could take him to other religious services in all faiths if he doesn’t know they all have Gods -and some multiple Gods and Godesses. Oh and don’t forget the spiritualist church?

Perhaps he has medium skills that he doesn’t yet understand and it’s his angels on the other side whose voices he can hear?

Encourage all you can OP. It’s great to have faith.

In my experience of both Catholic and C of E Churches, it is the Catholic ones that have been most welcoming of people with additional needs.
Except for Shrewsbury cathedral.
Even if he gets bored with his new interest in a few months it's good to try new experiences and learn new things.
I'd just take him into a Mass/Church service, sit towards the back, aim to stay for a maximum of 15 mins and if he is still sitting and listening after that then all well and good. He might be bored after 5!!