I wrote this post back in July when Illinois passed it's Civi.l Un.ion Act (CUA as I'll call it here). Well, recent events have made what I feared in that post a reality.
We live in one of the diocese that was fighting for Catholic Charities (CC) . They were fighting to have the Religious Freedom Act trump the CUA with regards to faith based organizations abiding by their own moral values. The state, however, felt that the CUA was more important and CC had to either abide by their ruling that same sex or cohabitating couples could be a part of their foster care and/or adoption programs or close their doors. They would no longer be allowed to refer these couples to other agencies.
So with much prayer and a great deal of reluctance, the bishop of our diocese had no choice but to have CC stop its adoption and foster care programs. However, the bishop and executive team at CC have worked very hard to create a plan that will not disrupt any of the children being served or any of the families in the foster care and/or adoption process.
Basically the executive team formed a new organization. This new organization has been formed. The executive team from CC is now running this new organization. It is in no way funded or connected to the Catholic Church, so it can function within state guidelines and continue to provide care.
The staff from CC is being rehired at this new orgaization. Records from CC are all being moved. The children in the foster care programs will not even feel the switch. Families may have a little paperwork but they're making that as minimal as possible. Fee structures are changing a little, but it's all for the better.
I'm glad they had a plan. It puts me at ease knowing that the case workers who have operated under a moral code for so long are going to be the same ones we continue to work with.
Yes, they will have to start accepting civil unions in addition to marriages and single people. And our case worker addressed us specifically to see our thoughts on this. We took it to prayer and really had to think about our options.
The reality is that we live in a state that is failing financially and morally. It was recent news that our state is #49 when ranked as far as finances are concerned. Only California is worse than our current financial situation. It's also a reality that unfortunately Illinois is paving the way for many of these civil liberty laws that are extremely contrary to our Catholic faith.
With those realities in mind, we know that God is calling us to adopt again. And to possibly foster down the road. He's made that very clear through prayer. So although this new agency (CYFS) will have to abide by our state's laws, we will stay with them. There is nowhere else to go, and we're not moving to a different state. I know that the caseworkers are struggling more than we are. CC in our diocese operated with the guidance of the Catholic Church for over 100 years. At least those principles (especially the Right to Life attitude) are still instilled in our caseworkers. I'm confident that they will continue to respect life at all costs and do what is best for the children.
It just saddens me that a religious organization had their freedom of religion taken away. It's sad that a country built on religious freedom is now taking those very freedoms away. It takes away some of my hope in the coming generations. It makes it more challenging to raise holy children who look to the Church for guidance.
That was much longer than I intended it to be, but for family and friends, it's important to know as this will all be hitting the news in the near future. We will be beginning the process to adopt again here shortly and we will begin with the new agency (CYFS). Please pray for all of those affected by this situation and for our upcoming adoption journey #2.
Showing posts with label Catholic Charities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic Charities. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
CC in the Future?
In light of the recent Civil Union Act and the implications it has on Catholic Charities, I have certainly been thinking a lot about our family's future. As of right now, our case worker assures us that none of this will affect us in Domestic Infant Adoption. These adoptions are funded solely through our payments, none of the money comes from the state. Therefore, they do not have to abide by state regulations as far as who can be licensed or not.
However, we've always talked about doing Foster to Adopt in the future (hopefully after a few infant adoptions). Through this program we would hope to adopt children who are hard to find homes for. Namely a minority sibling group. Groups of siblings, especially those of minority races are very hard to find homes for. We have a loving home, one that already has a minority race in it, and are opent to just about anything. Ideally we would do all of this through Catholic Charities. We know, because they're regulated by the bishops and sisters in our diocese and throughout the country, that the values they stand for are the same values we stand for. They follow the teachings and guidelines of the Catholic Church and ultimately the Truth that Christ taught.
For this reason, it concerns us that they may be forced to close their doors. Catholic Charities will not be able to continue if they are forced to accept civil unions or even cohabitating adults. They have to abide by their principles and they have to follow Christ's teachings. They also have to do what's best for the children, which is to only allow married couples or single men or women to foster or adopt through their program. We then face the dilema, do we go with another agency or group, knowing that they support and go along with the civil union act? And possibly support/go along with agencies that promote and provide abortions? Do we compromise in order to expand our family and help children in need? Is this the same as using many of the reproductive technologies that go against our Catholic faith and morals? I don't know the answer to these questions necessarily and since this is all hypothetical and depends on how the current law suit plays out, I hope to not have to answer those questions. However, it's something we have to think about.
Hopefully nothing will come of all of this and CC will be able to continue to do what they do and the 2,000 children currently being serviced in the surrounding diocese's will be able to remain where they are. While thinking about this yesterday and doing a little research, I ran across this article. It was very well written by a man who is Catholic but also gay. He describes his challenges and really puts it into perspective. If only we could all embrace our faith and challenges this way. "Catholic, Gay, and Doing Fine"
However, we've always talked about doing Foster to Adopt in the future (hopefully after a few infant adoptions). Through this program we would hope to adopt children who are hard to find homes for. Namely a minority sibling group. Groups of siblings, especially those of minority races are very hard to find homes for. We have a loving home, one that already has a minority race in it, and are opent to just about anything. Ideally we would do all of this through Catholic Charities. We know, because they're regulated by the bishops and sisters in our diocese and throughout the country, that the values they stand for are the same values we stand for. They follow the teachings and guidelines of the Catholic Church and ultimately the Truth that Christ taught.
For this reason, it concerns us that they may be forced to close their doors. Catholic Charities will not be able to continue if they are forced to accept civil unions or even cohabitating adults. They have to abide by their principles and they have to follow Christ's teachings. They also have to do what's best for the children, which is to only allow married couples or single men or women to foster or adopt through their program. We then face the dilema, do we go with another agency or group, knowing that they support and go along with the civil union act? And possibly support/go along with agencies that promote and provide abortions? Do we compromise in order to expand our family and help children in need? Is this the same as using many of the reproductive technologies that go against our Catholic faith and morals? I don't know the answer to these questions necessarily and since this is all hypothetical and depends on how the current law suit plays out, I hope to not have to answer those questions. However, it's something we have to think about.
Hopefully nothing will come of all of this and CC will be able to continue to do what they do and the 2,000 children currently being serviced in the surrounding diocese's will be able to remain where they are. While thinking about this yesterday and doing a little research, I ran across this article. It was very well written by a man who is Catholic but also gay. He describes his challenges and really puts it into perspective. If only we could all embrace our faith and challenges this way. "Catholic, Gay, and Doing Fine"
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