Two More Catholic Adoption Agencies Opt Out Over Civil Unions

June 4, 2011

Catholic Charities of Peoria and Joliet have followed the lead of Rockford Catholic Charities and informed the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that they will no longer license families for foster care and adoptions over the state's civil unions law.

In separate letters to DCFS, Catholic Charities of Joliet executive director Glenn Van Cura and Catholic Charities of Peoria chief executive officer Tricia C. Fox each wrote that it was not the policy of Catholic Charities to place children with unmarried cohabiting couples, whether straight or gay. Fox also wrote that Peoria Catholic Charities is temporary if the state can add language to the law that would allow Catholic Charities to refer couples to any of the other 45 adoption agencies in Illinois so that they don't face litigation for refusing adoptions of foster care due to their moral code.

DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe acknowledged the requests by the three diocesan Catholic Charities present legal and logistic issues that are being reviewed. "Short term, we will explore every option to prevent further disruption in these children's lives. This isn't a viable long-term solution. Eventually these agencies would attrit their way out of foster care simply because they'd run out of foster homes." the rest 
(h/t Religionclause blog)