Britain's Blair Give Catholic Church 21 Months To Prepare For Gay Adoptions

In Britain yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a compromise of sorts with the Catholic Church on implementation of Britain's new Equality Act that prohibits discrimination against gays and lesbians. (See prior posting.) Catholic adoption agencies will not be granted an exemption from the law's provision, but they will have 21 months to prepare for the new rules. Ekklesia reports that if Parliament approves Blair's proposal in February, Catholic agencies will have until the end of 2008 until the rules apply to them. Until then, they will have a "statutory duty" to refer gay couples to other agencies.