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Catholic Charities of Springfield Sends Amicus Brief for Supreme Court Case

WICS/WRSP
June 11, 2020

https://newschannel20.com/news/local/catholic-charities-of-springfield-sends-amicus-brief-for-supreme-court-case

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Catholic Charities of Springfield has sent an amicus brief for a Supreme Court case.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, the case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, focuses on whether a religious organization can demand government contracts to provide child welfare services while they do not comply with LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination requirements.

The amicus brief discusses how the state of Illinois terminated Catholic Charities' foster care services after the organization declined to assess and qualify same-sex couples as foster parents, although they agreed to refer the same-sex couples to DCFS offices who can provide these services or refer them to other private agencies that could.

According to the amicus brief, Catholic Charities of Springfield acted as a foster care agency from 1965 to 2011. In 2011, while the organization was serving about 325 foster children, the state terminated its services following the enactment of the Illinois Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act.

The amicus brief states:

Catholic Charities had a sincerely held belief in the Roman Catholic Church’s centuries-long teaching that a true “marriage” consists of the union of a man and a woman, not of two men or two women. Catholic Charities proposed that it would refer same-sex applicants to one of over 60 DCFS field offices which could qualify such individuals or refer them to the many private agencies that would. The State rejected this proposal and when Catholic Charities declined to back down, the State terminated its 40-year relationship with them.

The amicus brief alleges the state's action harmed Illinois foster children by excluding faith-based agencies when foster parents are in short supply, as well as destroying the foster parent recruiting networks that Catholic Charities had developed.

In addition, the amicus brief claims the state's decision to terminate Catholic Charities' services did not benefit same-sex couples, as they could access over 100 DCFS field offices and alternative foster care agencies in the state who could assess and qualify them as foster parents. According to Catholic Charities, in a 2011 lawsuit brought against the state, the state did not present any evidence that same-sex couples were unable to receive services from various DCFS offices and foster care agencies.

John Knight, Director of the LGBTQ and HIV Project of the ACLU of Illinois, responded with the following statement:

“It is unsurprising that these Illinois Catholic Charities organizations believe they should be able to use Illinois taxpayer funds to discriminate in violation of the law. They made the same argument nearly a decade ago. They were wrong then, they are wrong now.

"As we demonstrated in court in Illinois years ago, discriminatory policies that exclude LGBTQ parents from fostering and adoption do not protect children. They harm young people. And the best interests of children, not the religious affiliation or history of the provider, should be the sole priority of any child welfare system – including the one in Illinois.

"The Supreme Court should put the children first – children who already have been subject to abuse and neglect – and reject the request of certain groups to use public funds to discrimination on the basis of their specific religious beliefs.”

 

 

 

 

 




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