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from Theological Issues
Catholic Charities Of San Francisco
Revises Policy on Adoption
March 22, 2006 -
The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese is currently under fire for a decision to
enforce Catholic Doctrine, which prohibits the placement of children in
homosexual homes. The new Archbishop of San Francisco is George Niederauer, who
has admitted that the Catholic Charities adoption agency has placed children in
the homes of homosexuals before, but will now stop the practice.
According to Pope Benedict XVI, placing children in such homes means "doing
violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency
would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their
full human development."
Archbishop Niederauer agrees with this and said: "We fully accept and faithfully
teach what the Catholic Church teaches on marriage and family life. In light of
these convictions, we currently are reviewing our adoption programs to determine
concretely how we can continue to best serve children who are so much in need of
a home."
The current head of Catholic Charities is Brian Cahill, who has a son who
behaves homosexually and admits that he has placed children in gay
households. His second in command at the charities is Glenn Matola, an openly
gay man who adopted a girl four years ago with his partner. Ignatius Insight, an
online Catholic paper, is covering this story.
According to the December 6, 2005 issue of the gay newspaper, The Advocate,
Matola adopted the girl through another agency to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Advocate also claimed that the charities board includes at least four openly
gay individuals, including Nanette Miller who told the paper: "Part of giving
care to everyone is not being discriminatory. I do firmly believe that being a
qualified parent is not defined by sexual orientation."
On March 21, 2006 the National Center for Lesbian Rights announced that it is
considering suing the Archdiocese if a final decision is made to halt the
placement of children in gay homes. According to NCLR attorney Courtney Joslin,
the Church is violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act and another law that
specifically forbids sexual-orientation discrimination in adoption matters.
Columnist Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe has recently commented on the closing
down of Catholic Charities adoption agency in Boston to avoid being forced by
the state to placed children in gay homes.
Additional Reading: Boston Archdiocese Drops Adoption
Program Over State Law Requiring Gay Adoptions.
Updated: 28 February 2008
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