Ultimatum in DC

From yesterday’s Washington Post:

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn’t change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Similar to the Archdiocese of Boston, who ended its adoption division within Catholic Charities after Massachusetts became the first state to allow for same-sex marriage, the Washington Archdiocese is threatening to cut some social services programs because they are fearful they may have to provide benefits to same-sex couples.

The Catholic Church is a major provider of social services in the Washington, D.C., area:

Catholic Charities, the church’s social services arm, is one of dozens of nonprofit organizations that partner with the District. It serves 68,000 people in the city, including the one-third of Washington’s homeless people who go to city-owned shelters managed by the church.

The church seems to be gambling with the lives of those it serves in Washington, threatening to suspend the truly noble care it offers to the least among us in order to resist a change in civil law. Christ’s call to serve the poor and marginalized is taken quite seriously by church leaders, and often the many acts of mercy and charity performed by church employees and volunteers serve as powerful witness to the Christ’s commandment to love our neighbors. How disheartening it would be for the church to disrupt this work because of a change in civil law.

Michael O’Loughlin