On March 10 in Boston, one of the oldest and most respected adoption agencies, Catholic Charities, made a shocking announcement: “We are getting out of the adoption business. We have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve … The issue is adoption to same sex couples.”
What is especially sad is that Catholic Charities specialized in finding homes for hard-to-place children. The result will be that fewer foster children will find good homes.
The dilemma they couldn”t resolve was the Vatican made it clear that placing children with same sex partners violates Catholic teaching on one hand; on the other hand the Massachusetts Supreme court stated that same sex and opposite sex couples must be treated the same.
This one example shows that religious institutions will be significantly changed once same sex marriage is ratified. Experts state that Christian Churches and Jewish Synagogues will not be affected initially but ancillary religious organizations will be: adoption agencies, religious schools, camps, retreats and homeless shelters. Also, licensing of marriage counselors, psychological clinics and social workers will be changed. These commercial organizations will be forced to comply with “public accommodation” laws and serve all clients.
For example, a California Christian high school expelled two girls who were in a lesbian relationship. If the high school loses this lawsuit it will be put in the same predicament as Catholic Charities and will ultimately close its doors.
Jonathon Turley, a First Amendment specialist from George Washington University, believes the tax-exempt status of churches will ultimately be challenged. He stated that the tax-exempt status for 501 (c)(3) churches used to be “viewpoint neutral” until 1971 when the IRS redefined tax-exempt status as a public endorsement or subsidy. This means that a church could be stripped of its tax-exempt status if were “contrary to public policy”.
If being against homosexual marriage is viewed to be similar to racial discrimination, then certainly the tax-exempt status would be stripped.
Now is the time for Christians to enter the culture war in a respectful manner. If we don”t, we may find our schools closed and churches taxed.
Bruce Van Buskirk
Kelseyville
