Posted on 07/15/2005 11:29:25 AM PDT by nypokerface
JACKSON, Miss. - A Christian adoption agency that receives money from Choose Life license plate fees said it does not place children with Roman Catholic couples because their religion conflicts with the agency's "Statement of Faith."
Bethany Christian Services stated the policy in a letter to a Jackson couple this month, and another Mississippi couple said they were rejected for the same reason last year.
"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to not accept applications from Catholics was an effort to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time, money and emotional energy."
Sandy and Robert Steadman, who learned of Bethany's decision in a July 8 letter, said their priest told them the faith statement did not conflict with Catholic teaching.
Loria Williams of nearby Ridgeland said she and her husband, Wes, had a similar experience when they started to pursue an adoption in September 2004.
"I can't believe an agency that's nationwide would act like this," Loria Williams said. "There was an agency who was Christian based but wasn't willing to help people across the board."
The agency is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has offices in 30 states, including three in Mississippi. Its Web site does not refer to any specific branch of Christianity.
Stewart told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the board will review its policy, but she didn't specify which aspects will be addressed.
The Web site says all Bethany staff and adoptive applicants personally agree with the faith statement, which describes belief in the Christian Church and the Scripture.
"As the Savior, Jesus takes away the sins of the world," the statement says in part. "Jesus is the one in whom we are called to put our hope, our only hope for forgiveness of sin and for reconciliation with God and with one another."
Sandy Steadman said she was hurt and disappointed that Bethany received funds from the Choose Life car license plates. "I know of a lot of Catholics who get those tags," she said.
She added: "If it's OK to accept our money, it should be OK to open your home to us as a family."
Bethany is one of 24 adoption and pregnancy counseling centers in Mississippi that receives money from the sale of Choose Life tags, a special plate that motorists can obtain with an extra fee.
Of $244,000 generated by the sale of the tags in 2004, Bethany received $7,053, said Geraldine Gray, treasurer of Choose Life Mississippi, which distributes the money.
"It is troubling to me if they are discriminating based on only the Catholics," Gray said.
>> I would presume that Scripture would have a little something to say about it if theologically Mary is the Queen of Heaven. <<
It does:
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." -- Revelations 12:1
This woman in this prophecy does represent the Church, but the it is very plain that she is the Mother of Christ (cf. Rev 12:5). The Blessed Mother, by saying "Thy will be done," and bringing Christ into the world is the embodiment of the Church.
Our friends in VA, Baptist pastor and his wife, are adopting through Catholic Charities. They said CC was the most supportive and helpful of all the agencies they contacted. They are in their 40's and have some health problems, so thought they would be unable to adopt at all.
Some may take issue with this in the light of Mark 3:21, 31.
I've noticed that too. It's sad..
" Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Cute proof-texting.
But, unless you actually believe you can be saved by living a life of sin and hating Jesus, you are misinterpreting it.
Some people do not consider Catholics to be Christians. Oh, boy, what nasty things I could say about that opinion!
Forgive me if I don't respond to you anymore. I'm not finding the conversation profitable.
And 'world' does not mean everybody everywhere. Do a word study. It is in reference to people in all parts of the world.
No. I'm saying that there are Catholics that I have known that speak as though Catholic and Christian is the same thing and, in a few rare cases, never seemed to ponder the possibility of a non-Catholic Christian. They use the word "Catholic" and "Christian" interchangibly. I think that suggests that part of the reason why Protestants in the South ask people if they are "Catholic or Christian". They may be using "Christian" interchangibly with "Protestant".
Of course in the broader sense, there are indeed Catholics who don't think of Protestants as proper Christians just as there are Protestants who don't think that Catholics are proper Christians. Don't think that it doesn't go both ways. Perhaps you don't see it when Catholics are a minority but one can see it when Catholics are in the majority and I can certainly point out that my mother was denied a church blessing for her marriage and thus communion because my father (having a chip on his shoulder from growing up as a minority Protestant kid in a majority Catholic city) didn't think it fair that he had to promise the Catholic church to raise any potential children Catholic. As I mentioned earlier, I have Catholic-Protestant marriages in my family going back well over a century on both sides and I can tell you with absolute certainty that both Catholics and Protestants often did not (and in some cases still do not) treat each other with respect.
Again, I am not singling out Catholics. Protestants certainly do it to. And I think it's stupid no matter which way it goes.
I'll have to remember that.
I think you probably know that I'm Catholic (and therefore reject the heresy of universal salvation). However, any theory of Salvation you want to propose as Christian must not contradict St. John's description of Jesus. Unless you want to call John the Baptist a false prophet ...
It's not "sad" to us. It's an acknowledgement that we adhere to the universal authority of the Church Jesus founded, the Bride of Christ.
That being said, I still think it's a private agency that can have it's own private rules for who it does business with. A lot of people think that because it's a "free country" they're free to do ANYTHING they want, which is actually the most intriguing part of the article for me.
Question_Assumptions,
All I can say is, I've never met a Catholic who saw Protestants as non-Christians, so that comes across as puzzling to me, and I have known Catholics from communities where Catholics were the majority.
I've always been taught that Protestants are our neighbors, and "separated bretheren," which has more recently given way to the term brethern.
I wanted to join a local homeschool support group but couldn't quite agree to their very Calvinistic statement of faith. (I'm high-church Anglican) When the leader called me to ask why I hadn't signed the statement and sent in my check for membership. I plainly told her that after thinking about it and praying about it, I felt the only statements I could sign would be the Apostle's or Nicene Creeds. Her answer..."oh, those are man made!" My husband and I rolled on the floor laughing. I mean, puhleese, who wrote her statement?
As for support groups, I started my own. ;)
LOL!
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