The Equality Act
There is a story in The Tablet about England's upcoming Equality Act, which outlaws discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Catholic Church has said it will close down its adoption agencies rather than allow gays to adopt, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has come out in support of that position.
This question - whether the government has the right to determine the actions of "voluntary bodies" (religious organizations, for instance) - has been a hot one forever, and when Rowan Williams says ... the rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well-meaning ... I think of Thomas Moore.
But I'm not sure I should, because the right the Archbishop was talking about was the right to treat a certain group of people in a discriminatory way. Read this quote taken from the Tablet story, about the Catholic Adoption Agencies .....
... they were renowned to be good at what they do; there were only around 12 Catholic agencies dealing with around 200 children, so homosexual couples had plenty of other agencies to choose from; and this was more about ideology than demand, as there were 3,700 adoptions last year of which 185 were by gay couples .....
Now, re-read it and instead of seeing the words gay and homosexual, see the words Hispanic, or Muslim, or the Disabled. Does it still seem as benign?
I know, I know ... it's all about the teaching of the Church that deems homosexual acts to be disordered, which leads to homosexual relationships being wrong, and marriage being denied, as well asadoption by gay/lesbian parents, as it does "violence" to children ... this is the bit about conscience the Archbishop mentioned above.
But the Church teaching on homosexuality, at least according to some theologians like James Alison, is subject to interpretation, and studies show that children raised by gays and lesbians are not harmed but do as well as those raised by heterosexual couples.
It's the state's duty to protect the rights of all its citizens, and the Church must follow its conscience. I wish I could say I knew what to think when these two things conflict.
**********************
* New Position Statement Adopted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
Adoption and Co-Parenting of Children by Same-Sex Couples - link
* Kids of Same-Sex Parents Do Fine - CBS News
* Vatican Document - Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition
to Unions Between Homosexual Persons - link
This question - whether the government has the right to determine the actions of "voluntary bodies" (religious organizations, for instance) - has been a hot one forever, and when Rowan Williams says ... the rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well-meaning ... I think of Thomas Moore.
But I'm not sure I should, because the right the Archbishop was talking about was the right to treat a certain group of people in a discriminatory way. Read this quote taken from the Tablet story, about the Catholic Adoption Agencies .....
... they were renowned to be good at what they do; there were only around 12 Catholic agencies dealing with around 200 children, so homosexual couples had plenty of other agencies to choose from; and this was more about ideology than demand, as there were 3,700 adoptions last year of which 185 were by gay couples .....
Now, re-read it and instead of seeing the words gay and homosexual, see the words Hispanic, or Muslim, or the Disabled. Does it still seem as benign?
I know, I know ... it's all about the teaching of the Church that deems homosexual acts to be disordered, which leads to homosexual relationships being wrong, and marriage being denied, as well asadoption by gay/lesbian parents, as it does "violence" to children ... this is the bit about conscience the Archbishop mentioned above.
But the Church teaching on homosexuality, at least according to some theologians like James Alison, is subject to interpretation, and studies show that children raised by gays and lesbians are not harmed but do as well as those raised by heterosexual couples.
It's the state's duty to protect the rights of all its citizens, and the Church must follow its conscience. I wish I could say I knew what to think when these two things conflict.
**********************
* New Position Statement Adopted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
Adoption and Co-Parenting of Children by Same-Sex Couples - link
* Kids of Same-Sex Parents Do Fine - CBS News
* Vatican Document - Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition
to Unions Between Homosexual Persons - link
posted by crystal | 8:09 PM
4 Comments:
...studies show that children raised by gays and lesbians are not harmed but do as well as those raised by heterosexual couples.
That is perhaps the most relevant point. When dogmatic claims - such as the claim that adoption by gays and lesbians amount to violence against children - are subject to refutation, they cannot be used to advance a policy position. The church should look at empirical evidence and conclude that their position is not supported by the available facts.
When we cling to dogma in the face of solid evidence, most of the time instead of looking bold or brave, full of conviction, we just look either stupid or worse.
I agree, Chris.
First off, I want to say that I agree with Chris. And at the same time the problem may be that one disagrees on what it means to be doing fine. Perhaps these children do not tend to become Catholic, and therefore ...
In general, given the emotional state that these battles bring on, I don't much trust anything said be either side!
Evan worse is some of what follows from the Church's pronouncements that every child should have both a mother and a father. So, if a widow tries to raise her child with the help of a grandmother, does this do violence to the child? Should single mothers have their children taken away? I think that when one looks at the consequences of these pronouncements the conviction looks not stupid, but worse.
Mike L
Hi Mike,
I think you're right - many families are not taditional, in that they are not made up of a father and mother, even if everyone is straight. The real world is a pretty messy place :-)
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