The decision by Boston’s Catholic Charities to give up all adoption services because of being required by the Vatican to break state law and refuse any and all gay adopters is one of the saddest things I’ve heard about in a long time. A reader comments from a particular perspective:
"I was raised Catholic, but, incidentally, I’m also adopted from South Korea through none other than Catholic Charities. I would have grown up in an orphanage in Korea, as that used to be the solution to children like me who were born out of wedlock, except that my biological mother decided to put me up for adoption. Her one specific request, and I feel it’s an important and notable one, given the circumstances, was that I was to be raised Catholic. I’m not entirely sure why, but I’d like to think it was because of how they treated her and their reputation, both of which are sterling in terms of adoption.
My Mom’s Irish and my Dad’s Italian-Lithuanian and a career military doctor, so I would have to say that I feel as American as anyone else and, for all the trouble I’ve had with my faith, especially in recent times with all of the Church’s misguided decisions, pronouncements, and corruption, I still long to actually and truly believe. But, to hear this, even though I have not grown up in a homosexual family, tells me that clearly the Church’s priorities are so skewed, if not outright bankrupt, that I almost feel inclined to pursue a different branch of Christianity. It seems inconceivable that this is their excuse to dismantle such an important part of Catholic Charities, and, for a student currently studying abroad like me, it is just another push in the long chain of events that give me great misgivings about the Church, especially in America, and about our treatment of homosexuals."
Dan Savage has some choice points to make on the subject here. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: one day the Church will apologize to gay people for the wounds it has inflicted on their souls and psyches. Not in my lifetime, perhaps. But one day. And now, they’re punishing children to maintain their doctrinal purity. May God forgive them.
The Dish 