Boston, Dec. 07 (CWNews.com) - The Boston archdiocese has received instructions to stop arranging adoptions for homosexual couples, the *Boston Herald* reports today.
The Herald, citing an anonymous Church source, said that Archbishop Sean O’Malley has received a letter from the papal nuncio in Washington, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, saying that Catholic Charities must discontinue its current practice of helping same-sex couples adopt children.
The Boston archdiocese declined to comment on the Herald report, saying that communications between the archbishop and the Pope’s representative are confidential. However, a spokesman indicated that the policies of Catholic Charities are under review.
The Boston arm of Catholic Charities came under fire in October when it was revealed that the office was actively helping homosexual couples to adopt children, despite Church teaching that such adoptions are “gravely immoral” and “would actually mean doing violence to those children.”
Father J. Bryan Hehir, the head of Catholic Charities in Boston, explained that the Church agency assisted in homosexual adoptions in order to qualify for state funding that underwrites other adoption services. “If we could design the system ourselves, we would not participate in adoptions to gay couples, but we can’t,” he said; “We have to balance various goods.”
What do you think will happen if they don’t obey? What disciplinary measures can the Vatican take? And…how did the Vatican hear about it - anyone know?
I am glad to hear that the Vatican is stepping in to protect the children who have been entrusted to Catholic Charities in Boston for adoption. I would like to attempt to answer Elzee’s question about how the nuncio found out about the adoption policies of Boston’s Catholic Charities. My husband is a career foreign service officer, an American diplomat, and we have had the pleasure of meeting and working with Vatican diplomats during our own overseas postings. Besides represtenting the Holy Father to the Church in the United States, the nuncio is the ambassador of the Holy See to our government. You can be sure that he and his assistants are reading American newspapers, following the media (possibly even Catholic Answers forums!), and talking to people in the know all over the country. These are methods used by diplomats all over the world to gather information to send home. The Vatican diplomatic corps is the oldest in the world, and they are well trained and highly respected. I have great faith that the Holy Father is well served by his representatives in the United States, and that he knows what is going on here.
Father J. Bryan Hehir, the head of Catholic Charities in Boston, explained that the Church agency assisted in homosexual adoptions in order to qualify for state funding that underwrites other adoption services.
Just made me want to puke, there are some things you just don’t do for money, when are these people ever going to get it ?
[quote=buffalo]***Father J. Bryan Hehir, the head of Catholic Charities in Boston, explained that the Church agency assisted in homosexual adoptions in order to qualify for state funding that underwrites other adoption services. “If we could design the system ourselves, we would not participate in adoptions to gay couples, but we can’t,” he said; “We have to balance various goods.”
I wonder if he would use the same logic if some other moral teaching of the church were involved:
How about abortion? Would they provide referral and tansportation to an abortion clinic if state funding for a battered womens program required it?
If (God forbid) assisted suicide becomes legal and provision of it becomes the law to receive funding for medical clinics in poor communities… How about that?
Or is it that somebody has decided that this moral teaching is somehow less important than others.
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Thank you Marysann…and…if the Vatican is following this forum…I would like to respectfully ask that you please keep up this type of work. We desperately need your intervention and strong leadership in this country.
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