The government has taken the position that agencies that receive public funds to support adoption services may not discriminate against same-sex couples who wish to adopt children. The Catholic Church has taken the position that this governmental stance is an attack against freedom of religion.

Hardly.

The Church can follow its precepts as it sees fit. And in a secular society (not atheist -- just not theocratic), the government can disperse its funds as it sees fit. The notion that the decision of government not to provide public funds to a group that practices faith-based discrimination is not an attack on freedom of religion -- unless someone seriously wants to argue that freedom of religion means the right of a religious group to get public funding with no strings attached.

Will right-wingers who despise government but claim to love the Constitution now try to argue for government support of a church in defiance of the Constitution? And before anyone says that public funding for a church's adoption services is not supporting that church's religion, remember that by accepting public funds to support its adoption services, a church frees up its own funds to promote its religion. And a church that will not provide adoption services UNLESS it receives public funding has simply identified itself as a government employee.

Thoughts? 

 www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/us/for-bishop...

 www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/i...

This is a good topic, but there were no links in this opening post. So they were added above. Nothing else in this post was changed. RK.

Here’s a couple of articles:

Bishops Say Rules on Gay Parents Limit Freedom of Religion

www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/us/for-bishop...

Times sums up arguments in Illinois adoption controversy

www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/i...

 Yeah, I saw this one yesterday.  I agree, if an institution receives gov't funds, then they cannot discriminate.  And they should take great pains to show they are not doing so.

Question: do the Catholic Charities only adopt to Catholic families?

(not that this should change anything)

Is the not allowing a couple to adopt because of some tenet of Catholic belief a way to enforce some portion of the Catholic faith on others?

Irene.

Dec 29, 2011 -- 5:22PM, mountain_man wrote:

Dec 29, 2011 -- 4:29PM, rangerken wrote:

Take government money, play by government rules...period...and simple.

That's basically what every government contract I've ever seen says.

See: FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION, FAR PART 52--52.222-26

If anyone does not like those rules they do not have to sign the contract. Now, if the rules were actually discriminatory, they'd be challenged successfully by now since such rules have been on all government contracts since the early 1940's..

A bit galling that the Catholic Charities are framing this as though they are the discrimination victims of said clause.

Irene.