Couple Rejected: Will Christians Be Allowed to Provide Foster Care in England?

3/3/2011

(Page 2 of 2)

providing adoption services in England because they refuse to bow to a new Caesar.

What happened to Eunice and Owen Johns this past week concerning their participation in foster care is ominous. What is next for Catholics and other Christians if this trend continues? We are in the throes of a Cultural Revolution involving two competing visions of the human person, human flourishing, the true nature of marriage - the family and society founded upon it - and the definition of the common good. These two visions are in conflict. One is a throwback to ancient paganism which calls itself "progressive" when it is regressive. The other is the path to a future of true freedom.

On January 22, 2007 Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor sent a letter to the government concerning the pending legislation which later passed as the "Equality Act Sexual Orientation Regulations" . Here is an excerpt:

*****
Dear Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet,

"It has always been the wish of the Catholic Church in this country to work with the government for the common good of its people. We believe we do this in matters of social care, education and in many other ways. Catholic teaching urges us to do this, and we do it gladly in a spirit of cooperation. We would, however, have a serious difficulty with the proposed regulations on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods and services if they required our adoption agencies to consider homosexual couples as potential adoptive parents.

"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...."

*****
The Cardinal's letter was reasonable. But reason seems to be losing its persuasive power as tyranny is released from its moral restraints and now masquerades as tolerance. Now, it is not only a matter of squeezing the Church out of providing adoption services, it is a wholesale effort to deny Christian couples a right to be foster parents. Perhaps this will soon lead to denying Christians the right to adopt as well. This Court decision against Eunice and Owen Johns is ominous and calls for a focused response of prayer and Catholic Action.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Christian, Catholic, homosexual, adoption, foster care, Eunice and Owen Johns, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 38 Comments

Bill
2 years ago
John you have provided some keen insight when you identified our persecutors as those who have introduced themselves as authors of many of the comments we read in this page and in previous articles. These same men and women have followed in the footsteps of Adam and Eve. They do not accept what God defines as good and evil but want to disobey and eat fruit from the tree of knowledge so they will be the equal of God. Satan has told them that now that they have become like God they are perfectly capable of defining good and evil for themselves. They are delusional! Like the Romans who called the Christians "haters of the human race" because they refused to embrace the perversions and bottomless depravity of the Roman society, these modern day Romans villify today's sincere Christians. Brothers and sisters now is not the time to shrink from the fight for the heart and soul of this nation and of the world. To the contrary let us pray the harder that the Holy Spirit will lead these men and women who have been deceived by satan to reject what is evil and accept what God has defined as good and holy!
Bill
2 years ago
I believe that the US is on the same road as the UK only a few vyears behind. We had better wake up - particularly the Bishops before it is too late!
David Carlon
2 years ago
The UK and the USA are atheist nations promoting light as darkness and darkness as light. Both nations are ruled and led by goats.

Good is evil and evil is good.
Andy Holland
2 years ago
As St. Paul said, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." If we truly love homosexuals as people we will encourage them away from those things which will eternally destroy them. To encourage evil is an ultimate form of cold indifferent hatred. It can also be a form of cowardice - true "homophobia." That doesn't mean bashing people either, it means informing with good intentions and kind love. As we don't normally give alcoholics drinks, we shouldn't give homosexuals normalized "marriage." Not standing firm in our Christian beliefs is a form of real hatred.
john
2 years ago
Poor England so blind..so lost like the ignorant hateful fools who attack the Church.The Catholic church has been around longer than most nations and will not be going anywhere soon.Rejoice Christian brothers and sisters for the persecutin is at hand and many of your persecutors are introducing themselves right here..they are full of hatred,envy and they are empty souls..pray for them.We do not need fear anything or anyone...the victory has already been won..whats happening now is all the cockroaches are no longer hidden..but out in the open..waiting to be crushed..their days are getting shorter and they are becomming desperate.The battle lines of the spiritual war are no longer invisible..choose your side now.Remember...do not fear the one who can kill the body..rather fear the one who can kill the soul.Just because immoral laws are passed upon us does not mean we have to abide by them.Reject them..reject this evil world and those who follow it they are on the slope to Hell.
vance
2 years ago
What does anyone expect from the Liberal Establishment? Liberalism has repeatedly shown its ugly anti-Christian hand over and over again. This is just another episode of their war on Christianity. They Hate Christ and Christianity because it tells the Sick and twisted Liberals that their mentality and lifestyle is 'Perverse and Sinful'. The Liberals LOVE everything that is Sick, Gross, Disturbing, and anti-social but HATE everything that is Holy, Wholesome, Decency, Purity, and socially redeeming because these things make them gag. This is why I understand why the Liberals on this website support the British Judges ruling.
Karl
2 years ago
What does this ruling mean for natural parents? If, due to my beliefs, I am not fit to rear foster children, then I am also not fit to rear my own children. Very ominous.
Beth
2 years ago
One can disapprove of a person's behavior and still be compassionate toward that person. True love and eternal truth cannot be separated. But Christian love is not a feeling, it's an action - contrary to what our overly-sentimental societal view of love leads us to believe. Yes, Jesus loves everyone - but His love is not a warm, fuzzy, anything-goes sort of love - it is a perfect love grounded in unchangeable truth, seeking the good for everyone, which is called "holiness". As the late genius Father Richard John Neuhaus wrote, "Spare me a gospel of easy love that makes of my life a thing without consequence." But Catholics and other Christians can speak of hating the sin while loving the sinner until they're blue in the face - unless we approve of everyone's sexual behavior, we will be condemned as "haters". Alas, Jesus pretty much told us it would be so.
Gabriella
2 years ago
Cowards! We are cowards, afraid to spell out what is in our minds and hearts because of the political correctness that has spread, like a cancer, throughout the world. Nothing, but nothing will stop this train of death until we wake up and stand up, openly, for what we believe. God has been patient, waiting - how long?
Our minds have been clouded with nonsense because we allowed it. There is no use calling on the Lord to save us while we are idly standing by, letting this nonsense spread like wildfire. It our fault the world is the way it is for blaming 'the society' is a cliche that has been grossly overused - we are the society! - there is nobody else but us to blame. We elect people to the positions of authority without paying attention to their beliefs, convictions. there is nothing more deadly for the well being of a society than a political correctness - blind lead blind!
PhilipEdmund
2 years ago
The English knew what they were getting when they voted for their politicians, Whats the point in complaining about it?

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