institutional integrity upheld

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Aug 28, 2006

Fact: Cardinal William Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has issued a clear directive: Catholic agencies should not be involved in the adoption of children by homosexual couples.

Fact: In San Francisco-- a place with which Cardinal Levada is reasonably familiar, having served as Archbishop there for 10 years-- Catholic Charities has formed a pact with another adoption agency, allowing same-sex adoptions but keeping the archdiocese one baby-step removed from the process.

Do you suppose archdiocesan officials were fearful of entering into such an arrangement: fearful of a possible moral taint? You'd be half right.

It turns out there were fears about the moral implications of the deal. But the archdiocesan officials weren't the ones worried by the prospect. The head of the new partner association tells the San Francisco Chronicle:

When Catholic Charities first approached us, I was very hesitant. My organization has a long history of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. It was really ironic-- I had to make sure that our integrity and values were not compromised.

Nice to know that someone was worried about integrity. But you don't need to compromise when the other side has already surrendered.