Will Illinois Force Catholic Charities to Close over Homosexual Adoption?

What is happening in Illinois is one more sign of the growing effort to force the Church to compromise with the new Caesar

On July 8, 2011 the Illinois' Department of Children and Family Services severed its relationship with Catholic Charities in three Illinois dioceses. They claimed that these agencies refused to comply with what was called the "Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act". What is happening in Illinois is one more sign of the growing effort to force the Church to compromise with the new Caesar.  

P>SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Catholic Online) - What is happening in Illinois is one more sign of the growing effort to force the Church to compromise with the new Caesar. This growing persecution began last year in the United Kingdom and is now spreading like a tidal wave to the United States of America.  
 
Catholic Care, an outreach of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Leeds in the UK was "the longest established adoption agency in the area". They had "cared for children disadvantaged by separation from their birth parents since 1865.". They had been "directly involved in placing children for adoption since 1926 when the first Adoption Act made it legally possible to adopt children."

However, this wonderful agency refused to compromise with an intolerant secularist governmental agency in the United Kingdom which insisted that they deny their deeply held convictions. Those convictions are rooted in the Natural Law and based upon a concern for the best interest of children. And, yes, they are informed by their Catholic Faith. Is that a crime? It is headed in that direction in the West.

They were the last Catholic Adoption Agency left standing in the wake of the revolutionary tidal wave unleashed by the "Equality Act Sexual Orientation Regulations" which were passed in 2007. Eleven other Catholic agencies either closed down or severed their ties with the Catholic Church. In other words, either submit to Caesar, deny the faith, or close your doors. 
 
"Catholic Care" filed an Appeal to the High Court seeking to amend its charter to limit its services to heterosexual married couples. They argued under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights that there were 'particularly convincing and weighty reasons' for such "discrimination", which is the standard in the regulations.

If it seems obtuse and vague that is because it is. This is how tyrants work. They make their unjust positions all sound so "just" and enforce their will with the police power of the State, making those who will not bend the knee to the new Caesar fight for their basic rights to participate by making such appeals.

The Charity commission would have none of their argument about the best interest of children or their insistence upon their fundamental human right to religious freedom. Oh, they worded their opinion in the high sounding language of cultural revolutionaries. However, it was clear; they were apologists for the new regime. It has its own "religion", and it calls for worshipping the new Caesar. 

The Charity Commission is the enforcement arm of a regime in the United Kingdom which now equates homosexual sexual activity engaged in over a long period of time with authentic marriage. This is profane and perverse. They insist that homosexual practices, disordered sexual acts, be given protected legal status as a fundamental human right. In other words, unnatural acts between two men or two women must be protected by the law in the same way as race, creed or natural origin.

The Commission gave several purported "reasons" in their opinion to not allow the Catholic Adoption Agency to continue its charitable work. However, the most disturbing is the following:  "The High Court judgment had found that respect for religious views could not be a justification for discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in this case, because of the essentially public nature of adoption services."

They opined, "In certain circumstances, it is not against the law for charities to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation. However, because the prohibition on such discrimination is a fundamental principle of human rights law, such discrimination can only be permitted in the most compelling circumstances. We have concluded that in this case the reasons Catholic Care have set out do not justify their wish to discriminate."

So, as of August of 2010, Catholic Care was not allowed to serve this deserving and needy community. I wrote an article back then and asked this question: "What is next for Catholics, other Christians, other people of faith and people of good will? Everything has a "public nature" in this arena of the culture. .

"We have headed into a new phase in what is a Cultural Revolution involving two competing visions of the human person, what constitutes human flourishing, the true nature of marriage - the family and society founded upon it - and the true definition of the common good.

"These two visions are in direct conflict and the future of the West is at stake. 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, the Christian vision.

"Now, the last Catholic Adoption Agency in the entire United Kingdom can no longer continue its important work. What is ahead for the United States as the New Cultural Revolutionaries continue to plunder the American Republic?" 

Sadly, the tidal wave has since hit the United States. On July 8, 2011 the Illinois' Department of Children and Family Services severed its relationship with Catholic Charities in three Illinois dioceses. They claimed that these agencies refused to comply with what was called the "Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act".

The Act is a part of the Homosexual Equivalency Movement's Agenda to compel compliance with their efforts to bring about a cultural revolution. They want to use the police power of the State to force Church Agencies to place children with active homosexual partners and co-habiting partners or close their doors.

The Agencies involved have 2,000 children under their care. They continued to place children only with truly married couples or non-cohabiting single men or women who wanedt to be foster caregivers. They insisted they were in compliance with this legislation and were exempted from having to place children with homosexual or lesbian couples due to their mission and deeply held religious and moral convictions. The State would have none of it and sought to sever their relationship with the Church agencies.

So, ably represented by lawyers from the Thomas More Society, these three Catholic Dioceses sought injunctive relief from a Judge. On July 12 they were given a temporary stay from the Court. Peter Breen, Executive Director and Legal Counsel at the Thomas More Society commented to Catholic News Agency:

"This is a great win for the 2,000 children under the care of Catholic Charities, protecting these kids from the grave disruption that the state's reckless decision to terminate would have caused. (We) will continue this fight (to protect) the high-quality foster and adoption care that the Catholic Church has provided for over a century to Illinois children."

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria said he was "encouraged by the judge's recognition today of the grave harm that would result" from forcing Catholic Charities out of foster care noting, "We continue to believe we can adhere to our religious principles and operate within Illinois law. Our focus has always been on living the Gospel mission by serving and protecting vulnerable children throughout our communities, and we will continue our faithful mission building a future filled with hope."

Sadly, the Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, defended the state's actions. He told the Chicago Sun Times "They made a choice.  They have a law in Illinois. It's the civil unions law. I signed it into law. We're not going back. Any organization that decides that because of the civil unions law that they won't participate voluntarily in a program, that's their choice."

A full hearing on this important case will be heard in August. Stay tuned,and pray.

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