A Shepherd-Spine Alert

The Stomp-beats of the Boot-jacks continue. Reasonable Devotees of the One Thing that Matters 2.0 won't stop until all surrender their Foolish notions.

And most Foolish of all is a Catholic Church that dares--dares!--to refuse practicing homosexuals as prospective adoptive parents.

This form of unReasonableness must never be tolerated. Never mind the pleas of Archbishops:

The Catholic Church utterly condemns all forms of unjust discrimination, violence, harassment or abuse directed against people who are homosexual. Indeed the Church teaches that they must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. We, therefore, recognize many elements of recent legislation -- including much in the Northern Ireland regulations -- that takes steps to ensure that no such discrimination takes place.

What, then, is the problem? It is that to oblige our agencies in law to consider adoption applications from homosexual couples as potential adoptive parents would require them to act against the principles of Catholic teaching. We require our agencies to recruit and approve appropriate married and single people to meet the needs of children in local authority care for whom adoption has been identified as being in their best interest. We place significant emphasis on marriage, as it is from the personal union of a man and a woman that new life is born and it is within the loving context of such a relationship that a child can be welcomed and nurtured. Marital love involves an essential complementarity of male and female. We recognize that some children, particularly those who have suffered abuse and neglect, may well benefit from placement with a single adoptive parent.

However, Catholic teaching about the foundations of family life, a teaching shared not only by other Christian Churches but also other faiths, means that Catholic adoption agencies would not be able to recruit and consider homosexual couples as potential adoptive parents.

We believe it would be unreasonable, unnecessary and unjust discrimination against Catholics for the government to insist that if they wish to continue to work with local authorities, Catholic adoption agencies must act against the teaching of the Church and their own consciences by being obliged in law to provide such a service.

Catholic adoption agencies have readily accepted their responsibility to provide an informative, sympathetic and helpful service to all those who enquire about adoption, whether or not they meet the agency's criteria for acceptance for assessment. Catholic adoption agencies welcome adoptive applicants from any or no religious background. Homosexual couples are referred to other agencies where their adoption application may be considered. This "sign-posting" responsibility is taken very seriously by all Catholic adoption agencies.

This is an appeal for "fair play," particularly for those many children, Catholic or not, who continue to benefit from the widely recognized, professional and committed adoption services provided through our Catholic adoption agencies. Giving protection to the rights of Catholic adoption agencies to act with integrity will preserve an excellent and highly valued adoption service, representing 32% of the voluntary adoption sector, with an outstanding record of finding stable and loving homes for some of the most disadvantaged children in society -- including children who have been abused, physically, sexually and emotionally; children with disability and limited life expectancy; and large sibling groups who need a family where they can grow up together. Catholic adoption agencies continue to excel in their commitment and acknowledged success in securing and sustaining adoptive families for such children while maintaining the lowest rates of adoption disruption in the United Kingdom.

Never mind the benevolent work Catholic agencies conduct for society. Forget the service to needy children those agencies render every day. A pox on all talk about subsidiarity and freedom of conscience. The only thing that matters is the One Thing that Matters 2.0. The sooner those Fools understand, the better off everyone will be. Especially the Reasonable people of the world!