Catholic priests support bill targeting Christian adoption agencies

A group of Catholic priests has spoken out in favor of a bill that would require all adoption agencies that receive federal funding to place children with same-sex couples.

The United States Catholic Priests Association, which describes itself as “a pastoral voice of compassion, hope and joy in our pilgrimage church and around the world,” has expressed support for the “Every Child Deserves” law. a family”.

According to the Lepanto Institute, a research and education organization dedicated to preserving the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church, the bill would “effectively shut down adoption services from Catholic charities by making same-sex adoptions mandatory as well. as the potential adoption of children by couples of all faiths. system, including active Satanists.

In its March 28 e-newsletter, the Association of US Catholic Priests introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act as “a bill promoting the best interests of children in the foster care and foster care system. adoption by ending discrimination against LGBTQ + youth and religious minorities, foster parents and families. He encourages readers to sign a letter urging members of Congress to support the measure.

“As people of faith, we celebrate the important work of the many faith-based child protection agencies that support and encourage young people,” the letter adds. “Yet some states have laws that allow taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to abuse religious freedom to deny prospective parents and, in some cases, limit services to children because of their religion, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Such discriminatory practices violate the cardinal rule of child welfare, to always act in the best interests of the child. “

“We are committed to religious freedom and believe that it should not conflict with other essential rights and protections. Religious freedom protects the right of everyone to practice the religion of their choice or not to practice any religion, as long as it does not harm others. To assert that religious freedom justifies the use of taxpayer dollars to discriminate against children and expectant parents is a distortion of that freedom and a misunderstanding of civil rights law.

The Every Child Deserves a Family Act was introduced to the 116th Congress, but it did not become law. Although the bill was not presented to the 117th Congress, pressure from the United States Catholic Priests Association to support the bill comes after Sister Simone Campbell, a nun well known for her political views progressives and its advocacy for social justice, wrote an op- ed in support of the measure in February.

In addition to prohibiting “discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or religion in the delivery of child protection programs and services by federally funded entities” , the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, as introduced in 2019, would require the creation of the “National Resource Center on Safety, Welfare, Stability of Placement and Permanency for Children and Youth LGBTQ involved in child protection services to provide training, technical assistance and advice to state and local agencies and applicable service providers. . “

In addition, the bill would prohibit the use of the Restoration of Religious Freedom Act as a basis for challenging the provisions of the measure.

While the Every Child Deserves a Family Act has yet to be introduced to the 117th Congress, Republicans in Congress have already introduced a measure designed to allow faith-based foster care providers to conduct their business activities in accordance with their beliefs. religious questions on marriage and sexuality. . The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, introduced last month, faces an uphill battle for passage in the 117th Congress, with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the White House.

Conservatives warn that the religious freedom of faith-based foster care providers is at risk even without the passage of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. Defending Freedom Alliance attorney Greg Baylor warned that the passage of the Equality Act, a broad set of civil rights billed as a necessary step to enshrine protections against discrimination for the LGBT community in Federal law, has “no exemptions for religious foster care providers.”

The equality law has already been passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but is stuck in the United States Senate due to opposition from Democrats and Republicans.

In addition to supporting the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, the Association of Catholic Priests of the United States has also spoken out in favor of the ordination of women as permanent deacons, which has brought the organization into conflict. with its local Catholic diocese.

In a letter announcing the ex-communication from Beverly Bingle, representative of the Association of Catholic Priests of the United States, who attempted to be ordained to both the diaconate and the priesthood, Bishop Daniel Thomas of the diocese de Toledo warned that the affiliation with the group “may be a source of serious concern” because of the confusion and scandal “it has caused.