Chicago, Ill., Jul 12, 2011 / 01:24 am
Catholic Charities of Illinois plans to challenge the Department of Children and Family Services' unexpected decision to end its foster care partnership with three local dioceses.
“We are going into court tomorrow in an attempt to stop this, because we believe it's an illegal action for several reasons,” said Peter Breen, Executive Director and Legal Counsel at the Illinois-based Thomas More Society, in a July 11 interview with CNA.
“What the Quinn administration has done,” he said, “is a statement of wanting to end, unilaterally, an over 30-year partnership with Catholic Charities to provide foster care for the children of the state of Illinois. He said the move would “displace 2,500 children in foster care across the state, who are under the care of Catholic Charities.”
Catholic Charities' dispute with the state centers on Illinois' recently-implemented Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which gave a measure of legal status to same-sex partnerships.