A number of issues have the public's attention in preparation for this November's presidential election. One of these is the question of adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples. In the July 13, 2008 New York Times, Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper report on their interview with Senator John McCain in Hudson, Wis., on July 11. Although McCain is not Catholic, his responses here reflect the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue.
Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?
Mr. McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.
Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.
Mr. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children. I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.
Q: But your concern would be that the couple should a traditional couple.
Mr. McCain: Yes.
Several days after the July 11 interview, McCain hedged his earlier response when his campaign issued a clarification stating that, "(the Senator) believes the issue should be decided by the states, and that such adoptions should not be subject to a federal ban."A campaign representative added, “Senator McCain expressed his personal preference for children to be raised by a mother and a father wherever possible (but) he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. John McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative."
Now that he indicates a preference for allowing same-sex couples to adopt in cases where children might otherwise be left without a home and parents, McCain's clarification effectively leaves him in opposition to the Catholic position on this issue. Senator Obama's position on the same question is also counter to the Church's stance.
A local example of a Roman Catholic resolution of this policy question is found in the March 2006 decision by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston to cease its adoption work altogether rather than comply with the Commonwealth's antidiscrimination law allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt.
Boston's Catholic Charities was founded in 1903 primarily as an adoption/foster care service. Over a century of service, the scope of the agency's work has broadened widely in fulfilling its mission of "building a just and compassionate society rooted in the dignity of all people."
This one significant issue raises issues of piety, priorities and politics. Voters will weigh these on the scales of their own experience, faith and political affiliation. In the balance are the care of children, the discernment of truth and the building of a just and compassionate society.Jesus promised that he would not leave us orphans, that he would come back to take us with him so that where he is, we also might be. (John 14) We are called to love one another as Jesus loves us and so certainly the young and innocent who are without home and family are deserving of our efforts to provide for them. Whatever political parties and people of faith may decide on the question at hand, finding loving parents and homes of faith for those waiting for adoption is a work for which God's love holds us responsible.
It would be good for us all to pray for the Holy Spirit's counsel and wisdom: in the minds and hearts of all people of faith; in the work of those who govern us and make our laws; and, for gay and lesbian couples and their children in our parishes and local communities, especially those who adopted through Boston's Catholic Charities before the change in policy.
-ConcordPastor
Does the church assume that all traditional parents are good parents?
ReplyDeleteI don't see a solution to this difficult problem anytime in our lifetime. Give me Jesus!
Anne
Wow, this post touches so many issues: the church’s teaching on homosexuality (despite the significant % of gay priests), decisions made by bishops (influenced by Rome) that have widespread ramifications for so many families, discrimination, the tremendous influence of clergy over laity that serve on various “advisory” committees, the gap between the attitudes of clergy and laity on issues like gay rights – sexuality - even birth control, as we approach the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae.
ReplyDeleteOver the decades, Catholic Charities had placed 720 children, 13 of these with gay households. That’s less than 2% of the total placements. This was never an issue until the story appeared in the Globe.
In December, the Catholic Charities board, which was dominated by lay people, voted UNANIMOUSLY to continue gay adoptions.
On February 28th the four Massachusetts bishops announced a plan to seek an exemption from the anti-discrimination laws. They must have felt it was acceptable to discriminate on religious grounds. How would they feel if Mormons wanted an exemption in order to discriminate against Catholics on religious grounds?
Eight of the 42 board members quit in protest, saying the agency should welcome gays as adoptive parents.
On March 10 the revised, smaller, non-dissenting board voted UNANIMOUSLY to STOP ADOPTIONS COMPLETELY. That’s quite a turnaround in less than two weeks!!
If Cardinal O’Malley, Fr. Hehir, and the members of the Catholic Charities board were “deeply saddened” and had a “heavy heart”, imagine the sadness of the hundreds of children who have lost these adoption services, not to mention the 15 full time adoption workers (and their families) who lost their jobs.
Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Where is the truth in this sad story?
Anne: No, the Church does not assume that all traditional parents are good parents. It does believe, however, that same-sex parents cannot be good parents.
ReplyDeleteI understand your plea, "Give me Jesus." If it were only that easy! It's about discerning, finding and proclaiming the truth and any time an institution like the Church or an individual proclaims what it believes to be the truth, you can be sure that there will be disagreement, particularly when human experience is part of the equation.
In this post I used McCain's statement as a beginning point to look at an issue which is part of the presidential campaign and which relates to what the Church teaches to be the truth. As you can see, it seems that Senator McCain would like to please all people which, of course, is impossible.
The Church, in its teaching, does not make an effort to please all people since the Church believes that truth can be objectively known.
There is, then, a gap here - one which will be part of the campaign debate. I hope that this post and coments on it will help readers here study and understand the question from all sides.
"Where is the truth in this sad story?"
ReplyDeleteMy reply to Anne migh serve as a reply to Michael's question as well.
You say we should pray especially for those adopted through Catholic Charities before the change in policy. Why would you single out those particular children out, as opposed to other children being raised by same-sex couples? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: perhaps you read too quickly. I first suggested that we pray "for gay and lesbian couples and their children in our parishes and local communities," and then "especially those who adopted through Boston's Catholic Charities before the change in policy."
ReplyDeleteI certainly didn't mean to mention one group "as opposed" to another. I mentioned in particular one group because it might be especially difficult for them to know that the Church would no longer consider them fit candidates as adoptive parents.
Due to some of the issues I discuss in my post of Thursday, July 17, I'm closing the combox on this post.
ReplyDelete