Posted on 01/23/2007 11:10:30 AM PST by presidio9
The Catholic Church of England and Wales has dug in for a battle with the government over proposed laws which would force their adoption agencies to consider placing children with gay couples.
Catholic leader Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair and the cabinet Tuesday, warning that the Church would have to close its adoption agencies if legislation forced them to act against their teachings.
Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, said the Church would have "serious difficulty" with planned regulations outlawing discrimination against homosexuals in the provision of goods and services.
Plans to force Catholic adoption agencies to consider applications from gays would require them to act against Catholic teaching on marriage and family life, he added.
The adoption agencies could close if they lose local authority funding.
Adoption by homosexual couples is legal in Britain and Catholic agencies usually pass on adoption requests from gays to other agencies.
The Sexual Orientation Regulations are expected to come into force in April.
Blair has not yet made his mind up on the points raised by Murphy-O'Connor, his official spokesman said Tuesday.
"This is an issue with sensitivities on all sides and the prime minister recognises that and that is why it is worth having some discussions in government before we come to a decision," the spokesman said.
But Blair's wife Cherie is a Catholic and he is thought to be sympathetic to the Church's position.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, a Catholic with links to the traditionalist Opus Dei group, has clashed with cabinet colleagues and wants an opt-out for the Church, according to reports at the weekend.
But Lord Charles Falconer, the lord chancellor and Britain's de facto justice minister, said it would be "extremely difficult" to envisage any exemptions.
There are 12 Catholic agencies which deal with either adoption or fostering in England and Wales, which are responsible for 32 percent of voluntary sector adoptions.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church in England and Wales warned that they could all close if they were to lose local authority funding.
I wonder how dependant they are on government funding? I think that the Church and other religious organizations should begin to wean themselves from such funding so that they can maintain their religious integrity while providing services.
I feel sorry of you that you have such a misperception of religion. Clergy members of any religion are not gods. The are human beings with the same mortal flaws as society in general. That being said, it might make you feel better to know that the incidence of pedophilia among Catholic priests is far lower than in the male population overall. Again, you're just much more likely to hear about it when it's a priest, specifically because it is so unusual. Likewise, a male public school teacher is far more likely to abuse his students than a female one, but the female abuser makes a much better story.
Josef Alois Ratzinger was born to Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927. His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., Ratzinger, a policeman and a strong Catholic, was an outspoken critic of Nazism. A cousin of young Ratzinger's was gassed because he had Downs Syndrome. Membership to the Hitler Youth became a legal requirement for all 14 year-old German boys in 1939. Therefore, Ratzinger enrolled in 1941, but refused to attend meetings. He was never a member of the Nazi Party. He was drafted into the army when he turned 16, but he faked an illness and never saw action before the war ended. All of this is well documented. Unlike in Germany during the 1930's, and 1940's, it is your right to make whatever goofball allegations your small brain can invent. The Church is an easy target for biggots. I take that as a sign of our strength.
Good idea, but here's the problem: The Catholic Church runs most of the private orphanages in this country. Can we expect non-Catholic to make donations to keep them running? Based on the attiture of some of the posters on this thread, I'd say not so much.
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