According to the New York Times (Dec. 29, 2011) Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois have closed most of the Catholic Charities offices in the state rather than comply with a new requirement that says they must consider same-sex couples as potential foster care and adoptive parents if they want to receive state money. Catholic Charities is one of the nation’s most extensive social service networks, serving more than 10 million poor adults and children of many faiths across the country. It is made up of local affiliates that answer to local bishops and dioceses, but much of its revenue comes from the government.
The Catholic bishops argue that by being required to consider gay couples in adoption applications, they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Critics assert that no one has the constitutional right to government contracts, especially if it refuses to provide the services required by the contract and by law.
I am struck by the fact that nowhere in this controversy do I see any mention of the needs and well-being of children. Adoption services provide the means for children to achieve permanent homes, in ACT’s view, a basic right and necessity for children. When the bishops close services, children are the losers. When the scandals over pedophile priests broke, the effort to cover up the scandal overrode concern for the well-being of the child victims. In closing adoption services, I see the same indifference toward children’s compelling needs.
I am not an attacker of the Catholic Church. I was raised in the church and have written extensively for the Catholic News Service and other Catholic publications. Two of our four adopted children were placed through Catholic Charities in Indiana. I am saddened and outraged when this church or any agency entrusted with the well-being of children ignores that trust in favor of their own agenda.