Catholic charities to halt adoptions
The Boston Archdiocese’s Catholic Charities said today it would stop providing adoption services because state law requires them to consider gays and lesbian couples as prospective parents.
The social services arm of the American Roman Catholic archdiocese has provided adoption services for about two decades and said it would discontinue once it completes its contract with the state.
It says state law allowing gays to adopt runs counter to church teachings on homosexuality.
“The world was very different when Charities began this ministry at the threshold of the 20th-century,” the Rev Bryan Hehir and trustees chairman Jeffrey Kaneb said in a joint statement.
“The world changed often and we adapted the ministry to meet changing times and needs. At all times we sought to place the welfare of children at the heart of our work.
“But now, we have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve,” they said.
The state’s four Catholic bishops said earlier this month that the law threatens the church’s religious freedom by forcing it to do something it considers immoral.
