WASHINGTON DC – Heritage Foundation's news source, The Daily Signal, featured a story Monday on how Catholic Charities in Illinois are fighting to regain The Church's ministry to assist children in crisis. From author Kelsey Harkness' story: "Here’s What Happened After Liberal Activists Shut Down Catholic Adoption Providers in Illinois":
For the past decade, liberal activists have targeted faith-based adoption agencies if they do not assist same-sex couples who wish to adopt. Through lawsuits and legislation, these activists gave faith-based agencies an ultimatum: Comply with politically correct views on sexuality and marriage and place children with same-sex couples, or shut down.
Faced with this dilemma, Steve Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, closed the foster care and adoption programs he ran in the state. The cost? In an interview with The Daily Signal, Roach estimates that 3,000 children were affected and thousands of foster parents no longer will be part of the system.
Now, he advocates passage of the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, federal legislation to prohibit discriminating or taking other adverse action against a child welfare service provider that declines to provide, facilitate, or refer for a service that conflicts with the provider’s sincerely held religious beliefs. Learn more in the transcript of the interview, which was lightly edited for clarity.
The Daily Signal goes on to share an interview with Mr. Roach that could lead to religious organizations being allowed to offer child placement services once again – despite Illinois' unrelenting anti-religion legislative majority.
Read The Daily Signal story HERE.
If you weren't reading Illinois Review in 2011, we reported on the shocking way in which one complaint made to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office led to banning Catholic Charities and other religious groups from assisting with Illinois child placement.
IR filed a FOIA from which results showed the manipulation of the system – a story that was purposely ignored and suffocated by Chicago/Illinois mainstream media.
