BY SAINT DAMIEN ADVOCATES OF HONOLULU – Some 110 members of the US House of Representatives have co-sponsored H.R. 1681, known as “Every Child Deserves a Family Act.” This ‘anti-discrimination’ bill would decertify any agency which does not take same sex- gay or lesbian foster parent couples, even if homosexuality is against the religion of the adoption or foster care agency. There are no religious exemptions in this bill.
Regardless of any past history of service or charity, by any non-profit or charitable institution, this bill would effectively eliminate all Catholic Charities adoption and foster care in the United States since Catholic Charities, congruent with Catholic Church teachings, will not place adoptive or foster children with gay or lesbian couples (though other agencies do).
This campaign, launched in a video to be distributed nationwide, identifies all such co-sponsors: See the video here: https://youtu.be/05Uxav9lOhw
Saint Damien Advocates, founded to protect religious freedom, launched a campaign in Hawaii against Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who also is a U.S. Senate candidate, to point out the extreme position she has taken in co-sponsoring H.R. 1681.
John Roco, founder of Saint Damien Advocates, said: “it really has come to a climax, this fight to eliminate any religious organizations doing the same tradition of charitable work- they have since Saint Damien’s time and before- because a religious organization will not ‘change’ and take gay couples. It seems like the ones who are intolerant, are those active in the gay and lesbian cause- who do not want any foster family or adoption agency to exist unless it accepts homosexual couples.”
Roco said, “The First Amendment protects freedom of religion, and part of religious charities in the tradition of Saint Damien-the leper Saint of Molokai- is to provide foster care and adoption services. Saint Damien took care of orphans. It is egregious- these efforts to end Catholic Charity.”
Guest editorial Submitted by Saint Damien Advocates of Honolulu, Hawaii