"Catholic Charities cannot comply with these requirements"

On Friday, I posted the press release from the Archdiocese of Washington concerning Catholic Charities and the DC City Council’s bill regarding same-sex marriage. There has been some confusion in media reports about what the Archdiocesan statement means, with many people thinking that the Archdiocese will cut its social services if the bill is passed. The Archdiocese issued a clarification over the weekend which makes clear that that is NOT the case. It will still provide millions and millions of dollars (from its own coffers) of social services in Washington, but won’t be able to partner with the City in providing services that the bill would require them to provide. The part of the statement that clarifies this the most is the following:

“Catholic Charities observes the Catholic belief that marriage is the union of man and woman. It cannot place children with same-sex parents in foster care and adoption; it cannot promote and support same-sex marriage through payment of spousal benefits. The bill would compel Catholic Charities to do both of these. Catholic Charities cannot comply with these
requirements.”

For more information about the Archiocese and same-sex marriage, please click on today's title. The full statement of clarification can be viewed by clicking on "read more" in the first bullet point on that page.