Illinois County Judge John Schmidt in Springfield has countered Gov. Quinn's decision to terminate state contracts with Catholic Charities because of its Christian bounds on placing children, who are wards of the state, with unmarried and/or "gay couples."
For background, read Illinois Civil Unions Law, so Now to "Gay Marriage" and also read Illinois Civil Unions Not Enough; Must Destroy Marriage
UPDATE 1/10/12: Bishops give up - Catholic Charities transfers its foster care
UPDATE 9/26/11: Judge rules against Catholic Charities - adoptions to end
UPDATE 8/19/11: Foster children lose - Illinois can force gay adoptions, judge rules; end of Catholic Charities looms
Illinois residents, take action to Reverse the Gay Agenda in Illinois Law (click here)
-- From "Judge stops state from dropping Catholic Charities from foster care" by Ray Long and Manya Brachear, Chicago Tribune 7/12/11
The order is temporary and a hearing will take place in August on the issue.
. . . Schmidt said that his order freezes the state’s contract with Catholic Charities as it was before the state decided to cut it off earlier this month.
Three Catholic Charities groups sought the injunction to continue serving families and abiding by Catholic principles that prohibit placing children with unmarried cohabiting couples.
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From "Catholic Charities in danger of losing state contracts" by Bob Okon, The Herald-News/Chicago Sun-Times 7/11/11
The state wants to end foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities in Joliet and elsewhere in a dispute centered on the new Illinois civil union law and questions of religious freedom.
The Department of Children and Family Services last week sent a letter to Catholic Charities in the dioceses of Joliet, Springfield, Peoria and Belleville informing the agencies that they will not get contracts for adoptions and foster care in 2012.
A DCFS spokesman said Catholic Charities violates the law because of its practice of referring gay and unmarried couples to other agencies that provide adoption and foster care services.
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From "In Illinois, same-sex marriage again an issue for religious charities" by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 7/12/11
The issue is the same as it was last year in Washington, when the City Council approved same-sex marriage. Catholic Charities, one of the D.C. area’s largest social service providers, said same-sex marriage violates core church tenets and it couldn’t be in the position of validating gay relationships by placing children in the homes of same-sex couples.
While church officials initially said the passage of the law could force Catholic Charities to end its work with the city, ultimately church lawyers crafted a policy that proved controversial: Washington’s Catholic Charities ended spousal benefits for all new employees in order to not give them to a same-sex spouse. Some Catholics said the city had forced the charity’s hand; others were outraged to see basic benefits eliminated in tough economic times.
These local fights are microcosms of a broader, national issue: How to reconcile civil rights (the rights of same-sex couples) with those of religious liberty (the rights of religious conservatives to discriminate on the basis of their religious beliefs). While federal law and many local laws explicitly exempt religious groups from bans on religiously-based employment discrimination, how that applies to programs that receive public dollars is still a matter of huge dispute.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Civil Unions Fallout: Homosexuals Sue IL Christians over Their Faith
