UK Catholic charity must provide its adoption services to gay couples

A UK Catholic charity which wants exemption from equality laws which would force it to provide its adoption services to gay couples has had its latest appeal rejected. Catholic Care, which is based in the Diocese of Leeds, has spent more than two years arguing it will have to give up its work finding homes for children if it has to comply with recent equality regulations which prohibit discrimination against same-sex couples wanting to adopt. The complex legal debate ended up in the High Court last year before it was referred back to the Charity Commission which again refused to back Catholic Care’s stance. Deputy chief executive of gay equality charity Stonewall, Laura Doughty, said: “There should be no question of anyone engaged in delivering any kind of public or publicly funded service being allowed to pick and choose their service users on the basis of individual prejudice. This ruling makes the law in this area crystal clear.”

[via guardian.co.uk]