A queer situation

“Marriage is invariably reserved to the union of one man and one woman because of their unique ability to bring children into the world, thus forming a stable and secure foundation for our society.” This statement released by the three Roman Catholic bishops who oversee the Church in Maryland could imaginably continue to read: Even when this secure foundation fails, we believe it is wrong to place its children under the care of two homosexual individuals, no matter how loving and nurturing they might be.  
This statement was released amid the recent firestorm the Diocese of Washington (D.C.) is battling, where it is arguing against allowing benefits for same-sex couples within their partially state-funded organizations.

The most hyped of these battles is a Catholic Charities affiliate that is following a sad precedent set in Boston by closing its adoption and foster care programs rather than allowing same-sex couples to contribute to their success. The group will be passing its cases on to another organization, the National Center for Children and Families.

The center “shares our commitment to permanency for children and our perspective that foster parents are real partners with us in serving their children,” said Edward Orzechowski, president and CEO of Catholic Charities.

It is recklessly irresponsible for Catholic Charities to pass some of the neediest members of our society to another organization rather than look beyond a set of archaic rules to see individuals who are truly willing and able to take in the poorest of the poor — those who cannot possibly fend for themselves.

To these children, any food, shelter and interaction gives them another day and another chance to escape from the conditions they were unwillingly thrust into. To these “adults,” any contribution from a non-heterosexual family is unacceptable and asininely avoided. To this outsider, the complacent dismissal of care to another organization by the Catholic Charities only advances the tarnished image of the Catholic Church and ignores a potentially empowering opportunity.

A real understanding of humanity is being offered to Catholic Charities in Washington and subsequently to members of this nation’s largest religious sect.

The Catholic Church in Washington has been given the opportunity to stand firm with its belief in gospel living by continuing to benefit the neediest members of our nation’s capital, yet it has completely undercut itself by falling back on dogmatic irresponsibility rather than facing a modern dilemma with Christian compassion. There is little compassion in passing off these downtrodden children to another group.

If the National Center for Children and Families offers the same quality of care as Catholic Charities and is being endorsed by them, why not exclusively use the Center? Catholic Charities is doing little to offer reasonable solutions to problems it feels strike at the heart of its values.

What if there had been no other group to conveniently pass these children off to? Would the Church be as willing to abandon our society’s most vulnerable members in opposition to those who happen to share genitalia and a bed?

The concluding paragraph of the Maryland bishops’ statement against same-sex marriage starts by offering a paradoxical plea: “We respect the dignity of homosexual persons and roundly reject all unjust discrimination against them.”

Who has the right to determine what discrimination is unjust? Is it a group willing to abandon helpless children? One can only hope not.
 

E-mail: schammoo@indiana.edu