Boston Bishops 1, Boston CC 0

Catholic News Agency has the story here

Bishops of the Archdiocese of Boston, who for years have been all but powerless in controlling of the local branch of Catholic Charities, may finally regain their practical authority over the controversial Massachusetts organization. Earlier today, seven board members opted to resign their posts.

The dissenting board members decided to resign due to disagreement with the Massachusetts Roman Catholic bishops' request that Catholic social service agencies be exempted from a law requiring them to place adoptive children with homosexual couples.

The seven board members issued a statement saying that they were "deeply troubled" by the bishops' request, adding that it "undermines our moral priority of helping vulnerable children find loving homes.”

The statement also said that the members could not “participate in an effort to pursue legal permission to discriminate against Massachusetts citizens who want to play a part in building strong families."

"The course the Bishops have charted”, they added, “threatens the very essence of our Christian mission. For the sake of the poor we serve, we pray they will reconsider."

The 7 resigning board members are Geri Denterlein, president of Denterlein Worldwide Public Affairs and a supporter if homosexual “marriage”; Donna Gittens, chief executive officer of Causemedia; Paul LaCamera, general manager of the WBUR radio group; Brian Leary, partner of Gadsby Hannah; Peter Meade, executive vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Colette Phillips, president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications and Micho Spring, chairman of Weber Shandwick New England.

On Tuesday, the state's four bishops said that state law compromised their religious freedom by requiring them to consider gays as acceptable adoptive parents.

"Because of the Church's teaching,” they said, “Catholic agencies may not provide adoptions to same sex couples. Hence we intend to seek relief from the regulatory requirements of the Commonwealth on this issue."

There's no choice between Faith and Charity. We, the members of his body, witness to our communion in him when we live in Love and Truth. If we act charitably while defying truth, then we witness only to our own vanity. If we act in obedience to the truth but do not exercise charity, we deny the truth.

The Bishops insist that Catholic Charities perform its service in the spirit of our Lord. While Christ forgives all of our sins, he calls us to repentence so that we can live in the fullness of communion with him, beginning right now! He does not call us to accept our lives in sin because our society has considered it fashionably acceptable.

Adoption is a tough issue. While I would welcome the placement of a child with two healthy gay people in a relationship over two dysfunctional and/or abusive heterosexual people in a relationship, this does not make either situation right. It only means that one is less harmful for the child than the other.

Children deserve to grow up seeing the complementarity of human beings as men and women. They learn this best when they see Mom live with Dad. Catholic Charities should make every effort to place children in families with a healthy married man and woman. That helps children the best. That honors truth and compassion.

I'm glad to see the Episcopals of Boston have become shepherds once more. May they continue to be!