The Roman Catholic Church, as a result of its views on poverty, human rights, etc., provides all kinds of charitable works. Everything from hospitals to soup kitchens to caring for orphans.
All of which is immensely laudable. Worthy, indeed.
Which is why this is so shocking.
What it boils down to is a threat; if the city grants equal marriage rights, the church will cease providing charitable services.
It's their privilege, of course. But it's morally indefensible. It's using the poor, sick, indigent and orphaned as hostages.
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We can't dictate conscious. If the Church believes SSM are not appropriate parents, than they should get out of the placement business.
Now we the Government should dictate like this is beyond me.
Bill, I'm not suggesting that We the People dictate the conscience of the Roman Catholic Church.
I just find it beyond comprehension that the hierarchy could justify, on any sort of moral grounds, providing care for orphans because they might be adopted by a gay couple. That boils down to "I'd rather have them die than grow up and suffer living in a household which all the statistics show are indistinguishable from other two parent households, in terms of how the kids turn out."
Be that as it may... threatening to shut down services for the poor and homeless because of this is simply nothing more than blackmail.
I won't bother citing Jesus on this sort of thing, it's too easy; shooting fish in a barrel is more of a challenge.
Leave Jesus out of it then... if an adoption agency can't abide the Government's criteria for placement, they shouldn't be in the placement business.
That's the price we pay for enforcing this kind of criteria in the name of equality and justice.
So, so much for equality and justice....
You're correct, the criteria for placement are the criteria for placement--period.
I'm not bringing Jesus into it. I'm just observing that I don't think they could defend their depriving the hungry of food, the homeless of shelter, and the sick of care to their god, based on the directives of their faith, and certainly *not* on the basis that they're using for their threat.
My guess is that it's an empty threat. Taking that action would have profound ramifications on the church's claims to be serving the downtrodden and outcast--and would ccertainly scandalize (in the RCC technical sense of the term) people. I can't think of a better way to persuade more non-Catholics and even devout Catholics that perhaps they ought to steer clear of the church. But once you've sunk to blackmailing, public image....
The Church did exactly this in Mass. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/11/catholic_charities_stuns_state_ends_adoptions/
To may knowledge, they haven't resumed.
They'll shut down their Hospitals if abortion is in the Health Reform Plan. Believe me they mean it. And I respect them for it.
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