A Roman Catholic couple were told by Massachusetts state officials that their views on gender and sexuality would prohibit them from welcoming foster care children into their home.
Michael and Catherine Burke, who decided to pursue foster care after experiencing infertility, volunteered for thirty hours of training and interviews to receive a foster care license, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Becket Law. The couple had volunteered to parent a child with “moderately significant medical, mental health, and behavioral needs,” and one interviewer praised the family for their robust understanding of the foster care and adoption processes.
Staff members at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families nevertheless denied the Burkes a foster care license because they “would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA,” noting in official documents that the couple “not only attend church with regular frequency, they both also work for local churches as musicians.”
The lawsuit observed that the Massachusetts Foster Parents Bill of Rights explicitly forbids discrimination against prospective foster parents on the basis of religion and creed.
The author of their foster care license added that the Burkes were “lovely people” but said “their faith is not supportive and neither are they.” Becket Law noted that their rejection of the LGBT movement would not lead them to exhibit hateful behavior toward children placed in their home.
“As faithful Catholics, the Burkes believe that all children should be loved and supported, and they would never reject a child placed in their home,” the lawsuit said. “They also believe that children should not undergo procedures that attempt to change their God-given sex, and they uphold Catholic beliefs about marriage and sexuality.”
Several other lawsuits regarding discrimination against religious foster parents who disagree with the LGBT movement have been filed across the nation. Jessica Bates, a mother seeking to adopt from the Oregon foster care system, was denied because she was unable to agree that she would respect the “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” of any children she adopts, according to a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom.
Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, who serves as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in an interview with The Sentinel that many parents have similar accounts of denial in the foster care and adoption processes because of their religious convictions.
“We've heard from many people, both in Oregon and outside of Oregon, who have similar stories of being turned away because of their religious beliefs,” he said. “It is happening, and then there are some states where it seems to be happening more frequently than others.”
Widmalm-Delphonse observed that discriminating against religious parents in the foster care process could substantially decrease adoption rates: Christians adopt at more than double the rate of the broader population, according to a study from Barna Research.
“From what I understand, in Massachusetts, and certainly in Oregon, we need more families willing to adopt and to take children, not fewer,” he continued. “These states that are categorically excluding faithful families, they are ultimately hurting the children the most.”
