Boston, Mass., May 22, 2010 / 17:05 pm
After the pro-Obama group Catholics United started an email petition to put pressure on Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley to allow the enrollment of a lesbian couple's adopted child in one of Boston's Catholic schools, archdiocesan officials said they never received it.
Catholics United launched the petition after a Catholic elementary school in Hingham, Mass. decided to withdraw the acceptance of an 8-year-old boy's enrollment when the principal and pastor learned the child's parents were a lesbian couple. Catholics United reported collecting 5,000 electronic signatures in their petition drive.
Authorities at St. Paul Elementary School explained that the decision was aimed at protecting the boy, since the teachings of the Church on same-sex marriage are at odds with the lesbian couple's lifestyle.
Catholics United reportedly took issue with the school's decision and, citing discrimination, composed a letter to the archdiocese that they then urged their supporters to sign. At the time of the letter, Cardinal Sean O'Malley had not yet responded to the situation because he was overseas in Fatima, Portugal.