State Forces Catholic Charities Out of Foster Care, Adoption

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*DIOCESE—The Rockford Diocese announced May 26, during a press conference, that its Catholic Charities offices would no longer offer adoption and foster care services.

The agency was forced to opt out of contracting with the State of Illinois for these services because of the Illinois legislature’s failure to enact an amendment to the new civil unions law that would allow Catholic Charities to refer unmarried, cohabitating couples, whether same-sex or opposite sex, to other agencies so as to not violate the teachings of the Catholic faith when the Civil Unions law goes into effect on June 1.

Catholic Charities in the Rockford Diocese handles approximately 350 foster family and adoption cases in 11 counties in northern Illinois with a state budget of $7.5 million. Forty-two full-time caseworkers are employed to monitor these placements. An additional 24 employees have, as part of their duties, work in this area.*

observer.rockforddiocese.org/Archives/2011Archives/May272011/CatholicCharities/tabid/3587/Default.html
More anti-Catholic persecution in the midwest.
 
I just can’t believe it.

Why don’t Catholics FIGHT these things? Instead of disbanding your operation, make the state sue you, and then mount a religious freedom defense.

Many Bishops are starting to have some backbone, but until they are ready to go to jail for what they believe in ( and this is really just a contract dispute, anyway) we will not stem the tide of the liberal anti-Christian agenda.

The Bishop in this case (and in Boston, Washington DC and other places) would rather fire all his case workers or not give health benefits to their staff instead of making the state come after them and publicly try to shut them down. The Bishops are giving up without a fight.
 
PaulinVA said:
I just can’t believe it.

Why don’t Catholics FIGHT these things? Instead of disbanding your operation, make the state sue you, and then mount a religious freedom defense.

Many Bishops are starting to have some backbone, but until they are ready to go to jail for what they believe in ( and this is really just a contract dispute, anyway) we will not stem the tide of the liberal anti-Christian agenda.

The Bishop in this case (and in Boston, Washington DC and other places) would rather fire all his case workers or not give health benefits to their staff instead of making the state come after them and publicly try to shut them down. The Bishops are giving up without a fight.
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In these cases I have to think the Bishops know more than we…
 
SunnaB16 said:
Would you be prepared to lay money on that?

i`m more than inclined to agree with PaulinVA.
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I agree we should let our voice be heard–yet we really do not know what legal steps were taken (if any) before these decisions are made. That is all I am saying. I personally hope the various Dioceses are not ending adoptions without any legal fight.

The problem too is that lawyers often tend to the safe route, and rarely advise taking on a just cause legal fight.
 
I live in this diocese and I’ll start by reminding folks not to impugn the backbone of anybody, but especially a bishop they know nothing about. Bishop Doran has been (IMO) the best bishop in northern IL in my lifetime. We worry a lot about his upcoming retirement.

The gay activist lobby set us up very cleverly and left the Catholic Church with little or no options here. Defiance WOULD go like this.
  1. Catholic Charities refuses a gay couple adoption services.
  2. Gay couple contacts rabid leftist IL attorney general Lisa Madigan.
  3. Catholic Diocese looses criminal court case because adoption services are state funded and cannot “discriminate.”
  4. Gay couple takes criminal court results and uses them as evidence in civil court for “pain and personal suffering” lawsuit for millions of dollars, furthering draining the stretched resources of the diocese.
No, the battle was lost the moment the state refused to put religious exceptions into the ‘civil union’ law.
 
manualman said:
I live in this diocese and I’ll start by reminding folks not to impugn the backbone of anybody, but especially a bishop they know nothing about. Bishop Doran has been (IMO) the best bishop in northern IL in my lifetime. We worry a lot about his upcoming retirement.

The gay activist lobby set us up very cleverly and left the Catholic Church with little or no options here. Defiance WOULD go like this.
  1. Catholic Charities refuses a gay couple adoption services.
  2. Gay couple contacts rabid leftist IL attorney general Lisa Madigan.
  3. Catholic Diocese looses criminal court case because adoption services are state funded and cannot “discriminate.”
  4. Gay couple takes criminal court results and uses them as evidence in civil court for “pain and personal suffering” lawsuit for millions of dollars, furthering draining the stretched resources of the diocese.
No, the battle was lost the moment the state refused to put religious exceptions into the ‘civil union’ law.
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I agree with you, we do not know all the reasons and we should refrain from blasting Bishops.

However, when does the time come when Christians push back? When? If not soon, there will be nothing left to push back for. After all, what has happened in IL equates to a complete erasing of our religious liberties regarding adoptions and we just sort of stand by say, “okay.”

When?

When do we stand?

How long before the “state” says Catholic Churches must marry gay couples because to do so otherwise is discrimination? How long?

I am torn by the this topic…it seems that we need to make our desire to retain our religious freedoms known…and if that means going public and getting lawyers and taking chances…then when is the time to do all that? Or do we just watch it happen?

Just askin… 🙂
 
I don’t believe the plan is to idly stand by. I think the plan is to hold this up as a wake-up call to both voters and politicians who refused the exemption and considered it to be merely posturing.

I think this will come up every time IL catholic politicians (especially Democrats) meet and discuss issues with the bishops. No more can they dismiss this assault on catholicism as ‘paranoid’ or exaggeration. It’s real and now it’s having demonstrable harm.
 
manualman said:
I don’t believe the plan is to idly stand by. I think the plan is to hold this up as a wake-up call to both voters and politicians who refused the exemption and considered it to be merely posturing.

I think this will come up every time IL catholic politicians (especially Democrats) meet and discuss issues with the bishops. No more can they dismiss this assault on catholicism as ‘paranoid’ or exaggeration. It’s real and now it’s having demonstrable harm.
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Freedoms lost cannot be regained…and people with weak Catholic consciences are not going to care. We let it go, it is gone for good. We already have less freedoms today, then we did in the past…and must Catholics/Christians do not seem to care at all.

What is next?

Then what after that?

Seriously, if the Catholic Church can be forced to either offer adoption services to gay couples, or close their adoptions services, then how long before the same thing happens with marriage?
Let us face reality. The RCC is not the only place gays can for for adoptions…there are many secular agencies. The same holds true for marriage.
 
PaulinVA said:
I just can’t believe it.

Why don’t Catholics FIGHT these things? Instead of disbanding your operation, make the state sue you, and then mount a religious freedom defense.

Many Bishops are starting to have some backbone, but until they are ready to go to jail for what they believe in ( and this is really just a contract dispute, anyway) we will not stem the tide of the liberal anti-Christian agenda.

The Bishop in this case (and in Boston, Washington DC and other places) would rather fire all his case workers or not give health benefits to their staff instead of making the state come after them and publicly try to shut them down. The Bishops are giving up without a fight.
Click to expand...
You touch state money and you have to play by their rules. This is why I would not touch state money.

Let’s say you fight - and lose. Then you do what? Pay fines and go to jail? The Bishops have lost the hearts and minds of Catholics on these issues, let alone non-Catholics - that’;s really the issue. Much better, IMHO, to regroup. When society supports the Catholic position, then re-up. There are plenty of other apostolates to choose from.
 
johnnykins said:
You touch state money and you have to play by their rules. This is why I would not touch state money.

Let’s say you fight - and lose. Then you do what? Pay fines and go to jail? The Bishops have lost the hearts and minds of Catholics on these issues, let alone non-Catholics - that’;s really the issue. Much better, IMHO, to regroup. When society supports the Catholic position, then re-up. There are plenty of other apostolates to choose from.
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Freedoms lost will not be regained…the ability of Catholic Charities to deny gay couples from their adoptions services is now a done deal in Illinois–it will not change.
 
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