Tag Archives: Catholic Charities

Via Yahoo News: A big billboard of Pope Francis hangs over the center of Slovakia’s capital, urging citizens to vote “Yes” in a referendum on restricting gay rights. The vote this weekend in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation — which follows a similar one that succeeded in Croatia in 2013 — points to a cultural divide within the European Union …

We all saw THIS coming. Via the Atlantic: A group of faith leaders is urging the Obama administration to include a religious exemption in a forthcoming LGBT anti-discrimination action. Their call, in a letter sent to the White House Tuesday, attempts to capitalize on the Supreme Court case by arguing that it shows the administration must show more deference to …

During a Meet The Press panel on same-sex marriage, yesterday Newt Gingrich issued the usual lie about gay adoption. “But what I’m struck with is the one-sidedness of the desire for rights,” he added. “There are no rights for Catholics to have adoption services in Massachusetts. They’re outlawed. There are no rights in DC for Catholics to have adoption service. …

Responding to yesterday’s passage of civil unions, Catholic Charities of Colorado said that they will probably end their adoption services rather than allow gay couples to rescue children abandoned by heterosexual parents.   The Rev. Samuel J. Aqulia, archbishop of Denver, released a statement Tuesday refuting Ferrandino’s stance on religious exemptions, adding that while the Catholic Church “recognizes and affirms …

(Tipped by JMG reader Ned)

On Wednesday the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on a proposed civil unions bill. Senate Bill 11 would “authorize any 2 unmarried adults, regardless of gender, to enter into a civil union.” Last year, the Colorado House failed to vote on a civil union bill before the end of a special session of the legislature. This legislative session, …

Joseph Amodeo, who last week resigned from Catholic Charities after seeing Cardinal Dolan’s arrogant and dismissive letter to Carl Siciliano, has launched a petition asked Dolan to meet with some of NYC’s homeless LGBT youth. It’s wrong that 30-40% of homeless youth are LGBT. We’re asking Cardinal Dolan to meet with homeless LGBT youth, hear their stories, and dialogue with …

A board member of Catholic Charities has resigned after reading Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s dismissive and arrogant response to Carl Siciliano. Joseph Amodeo quit after Dolan took umbrage at a letter from a group that works with homeless lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender youths. “As a gay Catholic who teaches religious education (more than eight years in service to the Archdiocese …

Despite an exemption that specifically allows adoption agencies to refuse gay couples, Catholic Charities says they’ll discontinue adoption services if the proposed civil unions bill passes in Colorado. Watch around the 5:00 mark when one Colorado state Senator explains the exemption, to which the Catholic Charities rep effectively says, “So what?” RELATED: Sign ONE Colorado’s petition.

“When in a state they’re proposing a same-sex marriage law, they always say to religious people ‘you don’t have to solemnize these marriages so we’re protecting your freedom,’ but they want to force us out of foster care and adoption, they want to force us to provide benefits for same-sex couples. The other thing we should not miss is that …

Think Progress alerts us that Gingrich is lying again.

Huge props to Soledad O’Brien! Gingrich, of course, rolls right past her corrections and continues to lie.(Via – Igor Volsky)

An Illinois GOP state senator has filed a bill that would grant a religious exemption to the state’s Civil Union Act. Via the Christian Post: State Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) introduced a bill to amend the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act to give faith-based agencies such as Catholic Charities the right to decline an adoption or a …

Catholic Charities has lost its request for a stay on the cancellation of its adoption contract with Illinois, a relationship severed by the state when the group refused to serve gay and unmarried couples. Judge John Schmidt on Monday denied Catholic Charities’ request to stay his earlier ruling that the group has no right to state contracts to provide adoption …

An Illinois judge has ruled that the state acted legally when it canceled its adoption contract with Catholic Charities. The state’s move came after Catholic Charities declared that it would not abide by the new civil unions law and treat gay couples fairly. “The fact that the Plaintiffs have contracted with the State to provide foster care and adoption services …

An Illinois judge has temporarily reinstated Catholic Charities as a state-funded adoption agency. This move comes one day after Illinois announced it was severing Catholic Charities’ contract because it was apparent that the group would not abide by the new civil unions law. Judge John Schmidt said the abrupt termination of the contracts could affect foster kids’ well-being despite the …

The state of Illinois has severed its relationship with Catholic Charities, ending all involvement and financial support for its adoption and foster programs. Though four Catholic Charities agencies had already stopped licensing new foster parents, three of them will seek an injunction from a Sangamon County judge on Tuesday to continue serving families and abiding by Catholic principles that prohibit …

“The Catholic Church has often affirmed that here is no ‘right to adopt.’ It is a privilege and responsibility to be granted only to those married couples who can demonstrate, through their loving, permanent commitment to each other, their ability to make a lifetime commitment to raising a child in the best environment possible. May God bless these shepherds, their …