[Mississippi] Adoption group changes policy to accept Catholic applicants

[Maddy McCall]

If you want background on this topic, read this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...


Adoption group changes policy to accept Catholic applicants



After receiving criticism about its practice of excluding Catholics as adoptive parents, the board of Bethany Christian Services in Mississippi has voted unanimously to now include Catholic families in all adoption programs.

"In accepting applications for adoption, all Christians who are in agreement with our agency statement of faith are welcome applicants to the adoption process," wrote Bethany's state director Karen Stewart and board president Peggy McKey in a statement issued today. "Bethany Christian Services of Mississippi regrets any pain caused to families, especially to our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ."

The statement said the adoption agency will continue to stand on its statement of faith but "we realize that we took too narrow a view in assessing adoptive applicants."

snip/

Bethany's national office in Grand Rapids, Mich., also issued a statement today affirming that "All families in agreement with the agency's Statement of Faith, including Catholic families, are eligible to adopt."

More at: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...

AND a letter to the editor from the Catholic man who was deemed not eligible:

Good can some from this Bethany Christian Services fiasco ("Adoption firm: No Catholics," July 15). The article was way overdue. I'm the husband of one of the couples mentioned.

I just don't see how Bethany (in Mississippi) can call itself a "Christian Service." Not to mention, Bethany on the national level accepts Catholics.

Apparently, the Jackson board has made its own rules to pick and choose which Christian faith it will accept. That's not right. That's certainly not Christlike.

As you can imagine, hearing an adoption door slam in your face is hard to swallow. Especially on the heels of a two-year battle with infertility. How can one can say "no" to a fellow Christian looking to give a child a God-centered home? How can that be justified?

When I discovered Bethany didn't accept Catholic applications, I used the Internet to make this public. I must have emailed 200 friends, family and members of my church. I bet I had 100 responses.

Read more of this letter at:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...

Many more letters to the editor here:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Cate...

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

1. How very Xtian of them...

Was it so tough for them to do?

[napi21]

2. Ohhh, musta got a lot of mail!!!

Ops, they were letting that old "hate all the Catholics Idea" show again!

For anyone who really cares what they do, you better follow up on this to make sure they're really doing what they said! It would be really easy to say they will accept applications from Catholics, and simply never place any children!!!!

[mzteris]

6. I wonder how "they"

like Joseph G. Roberts???????

[rocktivity]

3. YEEEEEEEE--HAH!!!!!!

Now, THAT'S what I'm talking about! Progressiveness is on the march!!!


rocknation

[tocqueville]

4. isn't that unconstitutional ?

[iamjoy]

8. If So, It Soon Won't Be

I think religious organizations can discriminate to the extent that they are upholding their faith. A church, synagogue, etc can refuse to hire some one who doesn't share their faith. This is a problem with government funding of faith based programs - they can discriminate in hiring and even "require" those they help to adopt their faith. Not that there aren't a lot of good faith based programs out there, ones that help needy people with no strings.

Anyway, if it is unconstitutional, you can bet Congress will ram through some law or amendment, calling it "freedom of religion" because if the government requires churches to hire aetheists, they are endorsing atheism and interfering with the free practice of religion.

[VegasWolf]

5. How about us atheists? Can we adopt too? nt

[iamjoy]

9. You Aren't Fit To Be Parents

if you don't believe in God.
The way this country is headed, pretty soon atheists will have no more protection from discrimination than homosexuals in Texas.

And it will all be declared constitutional because "freedom of religion is not freedom from religion."

[VegasWolf]

15. What about liberals? :) nt

[leesa]

21. Of course not, ya crazy?

[ovidsen]

22. Great question.

The Bethany Christian Services gets some money from Mississippi's "Choose Life" specialty license plates. It's money distributed by the state government that comes from people whose sole common demoninator is that they prefer adoption over abortion, and are willing to pay extra for the plates.

Isn't forwarding that money to Christian only adoption groups a state sponsorship of religious organizations? I'm not an attorney, and I'd never play one here, but that's what it seems like. This wouldn't be an issue (to me) if BCS facilitated adoptons for all qualified hopefuls, regardless of religious orientation.

Any legal eagles here care to comment?

[DanCa]

7. Hopefully if any good comes out of this

The catholic Church will learn to stop judging people, gay and liberals alike. Oh wouldnt that be a wonderful world. It's no fun being excluded now isn't it based on ones politics.

[ticapnews]

17. Yeah, right.

The Catholic Church learn? Hell, the Church blames the little boys for seducing those pure, gold-hearted priests.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. Let's be clear about one thing:

Adoption is big business, bigger business than abortion by interstellar orders of magnitude. The unstated reason they want Roe dissapeared is that it would create a healthier supply of their fungible commodity, babies, which they sell at a very high price. It would especially create a healthier supply of the ne plus ultra, gold standard product: blond and blue-eyed babies.

Check out the anti-choice orgs sometime. Many, if not most, have an associated adoption service. Because it's a cash cow.

[Caria]

12. The US basically has two domestic adoption systems

and neither serves children as well as it should. Private adoption can be horribly corrupt (I think it usually is NOT, but it can be), while state-run social services advocate for biological relationships, view adoption as a last resort, and leave children in uncertain situations far too long.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

13. Not to mention future recruits for their endless wars

[area51]

11. About friggin' time! (n/t)

[AspenRose]

14. Believe it or not

The crisis pregnancy center where I live (a protestant Christian organization) frowned on Catholic participation as well, which never made sense to me, seeing how 1) there are so many pro-life Catholics, and 2) it's the majority denomination in my state (New Mexico).

Go figure

[VegasWolf]

16. Those protestant centers have separate water fountains for catholics?nt

[AspenRose]

18. I guess they didn't want those "papist Mary-worshippers"

around. Sounds like a Jack Chick tract.

*sigh*

[ismnotwasm]

19. Oh Good God. (pun intended)

The whole thing would be completely ridiculous if it wasn't so sad and frightening.

[msongs]

20. maybe their $$$$ was drying up...losing government funds or whatever n/t