By Catholic News Service
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled April 22 that the city of Philadelphia can bar Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from placing children in foster care with any family because the Catholic agency upholds traditional marriage.
“This ruling is devastating to the hundreds of foster children who have been waiting for a family and to the dozens of parents working with Catholic Social Services who have been waiting to foster a child,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket, which is representing CCS and several foster parents who have sued the city. “We’re disappointed that the court decided to let the city place politics above the needs of kids and the rights of parents, but we will continue this fight,” Windham said.
In March 2018, Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services froze all new foster care placements with the archdiocese’s Catholic Social Services. At issue is a long-standing practice of CSS not to perform evaluations of the homes of same-sex couples wishing to care for foster children and instead to refer the required process to one of seven other foster agencies contracted by the city’s Department of Human Services. On average, the Catholic agency was serving 127 foster children a day placed with more than 100 families in the city.