Important Religious Liberty Case in Philadelphia
While the nation is still fixed on news of settling the presidential election, we may be missing the beginning of a very important story. The Supreme Court will hear a case on religious liberty with potentially sweeping implications. The City of Philadelphia is attempting to prevent Catholic Social Services there from participating in fostering and adoption programs, because of their unwillingness according to Catholic belief of placing children with a same-sex couple. Other government entities (such as the State of Illinois) have already succeeded in shutting down Catholic adoption agencies for this reason, and the City of Philadelphia, showing a real contempt for Catholic teaching, are currently depriving many children of foster homes.
Rulings can be issued broadly or narrowly. Let's pray for a broad ruling that prevents any governmental agency from blocking the access of Catholic agencies to serve those in need because of their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court ruling is likely to be especially important if Mr. Biden wins the presidency, because he and his party have opposed the protection of religious liberty in the past, and could threaten religious liberty by executive orders.
The picture above is of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who were defended by the good work of the Becket Fund, a legal agency specializing in protecting the religious liberty of Americans of all faiths. Here's the detail on what they are doing in the Philadelphia case, including a brief snippet about Catholic foster parents Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch, who would be deprived of sharing their love with children in need if Philadelphia prevails in their bigotry against the Church.
