Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / May 2006

Catholics face moral dilemma over gay adoption
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060313/us_nm/religion_usa_dc_1

By Jason Szep Mon Mar 13, 6:04 PM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Catholics, already divided over the

Vatican's ban on homosexuals in seminaries, could soon face another
polarizing question: should Catholic charities stand together against gay
adoption?

The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities' decision on Friday to end its
century-old adoption service rather than comply with state law allowing gays
to adopt children is fueling debate in Massachusetts, a state that is both a
bastion of Catholicism and a trailblazer in gay rights.

San Francisco's Catholic Archdiocese said on Monday it was also reviewing
its practice of allowing gay adoption through its social service agency
after receiving an e-mail opposing it from a former archbishop, who is now a
top Vatican official.

A tough stand on gay adoption, while sure to rally traditionalists for
upholding Vatican teachings, could alienate liberal Catholics and further
choke funding at a time when many U.S. dioceses are under financial stress
from declining attendance and multimillion-dollar lawsuits in sex-abuse
scandals, religious scholars say.

It adds to the list of sensitive issues -- from abortion to stem-cell
research and emergency contraception -- separating reformers and
conservatives among America's 65 million Catholics.

"For some Catholics, this position on gay adoption will be disconcerting.
But for those seeking a more conservative path, it will be a good thing,"
said Chester Gillis, chair of the theology department at Georgetown
University.

"For those who take their cues from American society, American laws and so
forth, they will be uncomfortable with this. They will be forced in some way
to choose between their church and their country or their state."

STRUGGLE FOR MORAL AUTHORITY

It is unclear whether other Catholic charities will follow the lead of the
Boston Archdiocese's social services arm, which handles 31 percent of
adoptions in the state.

California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon,
Vermont and the District of Columbia allow same-sex couples to jointly
petition to adopt children, along with Massachusetts, whose lawmakers have
been at odds with Catholic leaders since it legalized gay marriage in 2004.

In Boston, the announcement was seen by some as a sign of renewal in
Boston's Archdiocese, which has struggled to regain moral authority after a
pedophile priest scandal in 2002 forced the nation's fourth-largest diocese
to shut more than 60 churches to raise money.

"It's a sign of the strength of the archdiocese and its remarkable strength
in spite of the fact that it has gone through two major crises -- one over
clerical sexual abuse and the second over the closing of the parishes in
Boston," said Stephen Pope, a theology professor at Boston College.

In December, Catholic Charities' 42-member board voted unanimously in
support of same-sex adoptions. The about-face came after eight board members
abruptly resigned following efforts by the state's four bishops to ban
Catholic social service agencies from conducting adoptions by gay couples.

"Does this reflect the Catholic Church's ability to impose itself on all its
constituent parts, well to a certain extent yes, given the board's
position," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of sociology and religion at
Boston University.

The end of Boston's 103-year-old Catholic Charities' founding mission of
finding homes for troubled children comes amid a Vatican campaign against
homosexuality, including a ban imposed in November on most gays from
entering seminaries.

In 2003,  Pope Benedict, when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, issued a
stern document that said allowing children to be adopted by same-sex couples
"would actually mean doing violence to these children" and was "gravely
immoral."

Catholic scholars said a question for Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley, who
was recently elevated to cardinal, is whether the appeal to conservative
Catholics will jeopardize millions of dollars in donations at a time when
the Boston Archdiocese faces a $93 million bill to settle sex-abuse cases.

"They may lose some private funding," said Pope.