Catholic Charities ‘cannot compromise on values’

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Updated: January 23, 2012 9:48AM

Last week, I attended a prayer service that honored Catholic Charities’ Children’s Services program’s foster and adoptive families and the children’s services staff at St. Paul’s parish. This event marked the end of a long history of service in building families and new lives. I would say it was a bittersweet event but in truth, it was absolutely sad.

Like a wake, this event was similar in the sense that there were memories shared, a feeling of loss and uncertainty, yet a speck of hope for wounds to heal with time.

The death we speak of is that of another piece of our Catholic identity. It was washed away by the storms of a stubborn and unrelenting societal agenda that now accepts unmarried cohabiting couples and homosexual unions as acceptable environments to place troubled children in.

Catholic Charities made a difficult, but necessary, decision. The ironically-named Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act signed earlier this year mandates that any child welfare agency that receives government dollars must now violate their own religious beliefs in order to remain on the rolls. The collateral damage is the many children who will no longer be able to be placed in a stable environment with a married foster mother and father.

Many of the new law’s proponents predictably point out that there are many so-called modern families with two daddies or two mommies or Dick and Jane who aren’t married, but want a child; that they deserve to be foster parents and adopt children. What about the children? Is this what is best for them? I guess it really doesn’t matter as long as the unmarried and homosexual couples can have their way.

I asked a couple of the staffers at the event if this was all a sign of the times. Director of Children’s Services Harry Wildfeuer said that the “gay movement has taken hold and it is painful.” Catholic Charities Executive Director, Glenn Van Cura said “We cannot compromise on our values, that’s what we’re all about.”

Not only do the children suffer now, but in this already miserable economy, approximately 100 Catholic Charities employees are now either going to lose their jobs or take jobs at other foster care agencies — agencies that will now require these mostly Catholic workers to do exactly what Catholic Charities refused to do.

I would say to let the government keep its money, but it isn’t their money. As a Catholic, I pay taxes and I don’t want my dollars supporting abortion or any of these mandates that contradict our Catholic faith. I encourage Catholics to support strictly Catholic programs that help the poor without ever compromising our moral beliefs and social teachings.

Rey Flores is the Director of
BetterCatholicGiving.org and he can be reached at ReyFloresUSA@gmail.com