Catholic World News

Citing required same-sex placements, Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland withdraw from adoption agency

December 04, 2014

The Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland have announced that they are severing their ties to the Family Care Society, because of the new legal requirement that the agency must place children with same-sex couples.

After exhausting appeals of a judicial decision that called for equal treatment of homosexual couples, the bishops said “they were left with no option but to disengage from the adoption agencies they had founded and with which they had a long and cherished link.”

The bishops promised to support the Family Care Society “as its board decides how to respond to the new legal situation, on the understanding that Church funds will be used only for purposes consistent with the Church’s doctrine and ethos.”

Protesting the decision that led to their withdrawal, the bishops said: “It is unreasonable for legislators to oblige faith based organisations to act against their fundamental and reasonable religious beliefs in the provision of services that contribute to the common good.”

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