Joliet, Ill., Jun 6, 2011 / 16:04 pm
As civil unions begin in Illinois, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet has announced that it has stopped processing applications for new foster or adoptive parents.
The diocese cited its “religious practice” of not placing children with unmarried, cohabiting couples of the same sex or opposite sex, a practice under increasing pressure from state law.
The June 1 letter from Glenn Van Cura, executive director of Catholic Charities in Joliet, notified the state government that the agency is “temporarily suspending the processing of new foster care and adoption applications.”
It did not say how or when the application process could resume, the Naperville Sun-Times reports. The agency presently handles 210 foster care and adoption cases.