Shortly after the deceitfully titled “Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act” passed in Illinois, homosexuals began their unholy assault on adoption agencies. A Southern Illinois adoption agency, formerly called Catholic Social Services, that has been affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of Belleville for 65 years, has decided to sever its ties to the Catholic Church, which will permit it to place children with homosexual couples.
More precisely, they are severing ties with the Catholic Church in order to get state money. In other words, their fealty to the almighty dollar supersedes their fealty to almighty God.
According to the agency’s executive director Gary Huelsmann, severing ties to the Belleville Diocese “‘is best for the children by providing for their continuity of care and allowing for the retention of the caring, dedicated and professional staff employed by the agency.’”
Asserting that this decision grows out of concern for children is specious rationalization at best. What his statement reveals is that this agency is willing to sacrifice a few children who will be placed in homes that dishonor God and that are devoid of either a mother or father, so that they can have the money to place other children in better homes. And, yes, a home in which there is both a mother and father is a better home. So too is a home in which the “parents” do not embrace homosexuality.
Huelsmann’s desire to retain funding for his employees is the believable part of his statement.
There are things in this world that Christians must not do even if doing them results in some societal good. And there are some things we must do, even if doing them results in hardship, suffering, and persecution.
No Christian should place a helpless, vulnerable child into a home in which the adoptive parents affirm and embrace homosexuality. We must not be party to such a placement because God views homosexuality as abominable. It is no more morally permissible for a Christian to place a child in the home of homosexuals than it would be for a Christian to place a child in a polyamorous or incestuous home, no matter how capable such “parents” would be of providing for a child.
Homosexual activists and their ideological allies make the transparently dishonest claim that compelling Christian adoption agencies to place children in the homes of homosexuals opens up new vistas of adoption opportunities.
Some months ago, Benjamin Wolf of the ACLU made this argument, saying that “limiting the pool of prospective foster care parents because certain religious traditions believe same-sex relationships are sinful is irresponsible when children are in need.”
As I responded at the time, Wolf conveniently omits the fact that homosexuals constitute between .6-3 percent of the population; the number of those who are in stable relationships is smaller; and the number of homosexuals in stable relationships who want to foster or adopt is smaller still. By allowing a few Christian agencies to exclude homosexuals from adopting — homosexuals who may unfortunately adopt through other agencies — will result in a negligible impact on the pool of adoptive families.
Here’s the final insult in this lamentable tale: The adoption agency has renamed itself Christian Social Services. An organization that subordinates Christian truth to state money has the audacity to place the signifier “Christian” in a place of primacy in its name. If Christ isn’t first, they shouldn’t pretend He is.
Voter Guides for March 20th Primary Election
We are taking orders for Illinois’ 2012 Primary Election Voter Guide. The IFI Voter Guide is a non-partisan resource that can legally be distributed in churches. It is designed to help you learn more about the positions of the candidates running for state and federal office in the Primary Election on March 20th. Release date for the Voter Guide is scheduled for mid-February but we are now taking bulk pre-orders.
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