The Boston Archdiocese’s Catholic Charities announced today that it will no longer provide adoption services in the state of Massachusetts, because it doesn’t want to sanction the placement of children with same-sex couples. Over the past two decades, Catholic Charities has placed 720 children with families, 13 of which were same-sex couples. There are currently 692 kids waiting to be adopted. Despite the fact that the charity’s board voted 42-0 to continue providing services, the state’s four Catholic bishops overruled the decision, arguing that “gravely immoral” homosexual adoption ”would actually mean doing violence to these children.”
Not everyone agrees with the bishops. Seven Catholic Charities board members resigned last week in protest, calling the bishops’ ruling a contradiction of the true mission of Christianity—to help those in need. Rev. J Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities, acknowledged that because the world has changed since the organization began, the ministry should adapt “to meet the changing times and needs.” Even Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who opposes same sex marriage, said, “It’s a sad day for neglected and abandoned children. It’s a mistake for our laws to put the rights of adults over the needs of children.”
