Catholic Charities Drops Lawsuit Against State of Illinois, Ending Their Discriminatory Adoption Practices

Ever since Illinois legalized civil unions, state-funded Catholic Charities have had to face the prospect of allowing partners in a civil union to adopt kids. In the past, they restricted adoptions to straight married couples and single parents. When the civil unions bill passed, they had a decision to make: comply with the law or shut down.

Most of them chose to shut down. (In one case, a secular organization stepped in to help the children abandoned by the Catholic groups.)

They filed a lawsuit against the state because they wrongly thought their rights were being violated.

Yesterday, thankfully, they dropped the lawsuit.

Putting an end to legal efforts to keep Catholic Charities in the foster care business, the Roman Catholic dioceses of Joliet, Springfield and Belleville have dropped a lawsuit against the state of Illinois, agreeing to transfer thousands of foster care children and staff to other agencies.

…

… Peter Breen, an attorney for Catholic Charities, said the state had delayed payments for foster care services, which delayed payments to foster care parents working for the social service agency.

“The action of the state forced the end of this case,” Breen said. “Time was our enemy in this unfortunately.”

Time… and the bigotry of the Church itself. If Catholic Charities were more interested in helping place children in good, safe homes rather than focusing on what people do inside their bedrooms, then they would still be receiving state funding now.

At least with them out of the picture, these children will have more prospective parents available to adopt them and that benefits everybody.

Anonymous

Added to which the Catholic church doesn’t have a very good track record with caring for children.
The very same has occurred in the Untied Kingdom, ‘good Christians’ are abandoning children in favour of maintaining their bigotry, looks like they have their priorities right, good job they have their bible and belief in a god to act as their moral compass.
Anonymous

They acted like the state money was their birthright. Stop accepting state money and the strings on the money go away.
Anonymous

The whole idea of not letting gay couples adopt because the kids will be gay is ridiculous. (That is what they’re afraid of right?)

If things worked that way then there would be not even one instance of a kid having to come out to their strait parents.
Apparently having a mum and dad also makes kids gay.
CbC

Three cheers! They won’t suck up more state money forcing the state to defend the law.
Rod Chlebek

Yes! Man it feels good to win.
Richard Wade

A few of the more idiotic people use the “catch teh gay” reason, but the ones with 50 IQ and above just think being gay is immoral, period, and so they won’t send any child to an “immoral” household. They don’t give a damn about the effect on the kid one way or another.

And that’s their problem. They’re focused on defending their moral opinion instead of focusing on helping human beings in need.
Richard Wade

“Time was our enemy in this unfortunately.”

No, history is your enemy, because you’re on the wrong side of it.
To Catholic Charities: Thank you for making yourselves even more irrelevant to society. Please step into the Obliviomatic, and you will begin to gradually and painlessly fade away. Bye.