Catholic Church In England Threatens To Close Adoption Services Over Gay Rights Law

BBC News reports today that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, has written to Britain's cabinet ministers to tell them that the Church will be forced to close down its adoption agencies if the Church is not permitted an exemption from new rules that will require agencies to permit placement of children with gay and lesbian couples. The Equality Act, which comes into force in England, Scotland and Wales in April, prohibits discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation. Catholic Church's agencies handle only 4% of all adoptions (about 200), but these comprise about one-third of the children who are difficult to place. (See prior related posting.)