London, England, Jun 11, 2009 / 04:40 am
A Catholic mother in Britain who is unable to care for her son has objected to him being placed in the foster care of a homosexual couple. She has expressed concern the couple could encourage him into a way of life she does not agree with, amid reports the boy is already asking about homosexuality.
The ten-year-old child was scheduled to arrive Monday at his permanent new foster home, a hotel in Brighton run by two homosexual men, the Daily Mail reports. Social workers at Brighton and Hove Council, who have full custody of the child, decided on his long-term placement last month.
His mother reportedly suffered a mental breakdown after an abusive marriage and cannot care for her son.
The mother has told friends she is concerned about the environment in which her son will be placed. She has said she wants him fostered by a traditional family in line with Catholic belief.
The boy is described as “bright and lively” and attends a faith school. He is due to receive his First Communion soon. According to the Daily Mail, he loves tennis and singing and he text messages his mother some nights to tell her he has brushed his teeth and has said his prayers.
The Thomas More Legal Centre, a Catholic legal charity, was instructed last week to represent the boy’s mother.
“We are advising her on her legal options and seeking to resolve the matter with the council by agreement,” said Neil Addison, director of the center.
The mother’s parish priest and the son’s head teacher are also said to be deeply concerned, the Daily Mail reports.
“This isn’t about a gay couple in a private home, this is about a gay couple running a hotel where they also live, where they cannot restrict who the child is going to meet. That’s my anxiety,” the priest said.
A fellow parishioner of the mother described her as a “committed Catholic” and reported that her son was baptized and brought up a Catholic.
“She knows she is unwell and cannot cope with looking after him. All she wants is for him to be raised in a regular family atmosphere, by a man and a woman.
“She would prefer a Catholic couple, but if that is not possible, at least a heterosexual one. But social services have given her no choice. She cannot understand how he can be looked after by two men she’s never met.
“Her belief is that they could encourage him into a lifestyle that is against her religious beliefs,” the parishioner explained.
“The other day he asked her, ‘Mummy, are you lesbian or gay?’ She had to tell him she was neither.”
The local council reportedly has one of the highest rates of homosexual fostering and adoption in Britain. It told the mother that the homosexual men who will foster her son are experienced and fully qualified and will care for the boy well.
It did not answer questions about its choice to place the child with homosexual foster parents against the mother’s wishes. A spokesman told the Daily Mail the council would not comment on any issue relating to the welfare of a child in the council’s care.