Northern Ireland bishops sever adoption agency links

NORTHERN IRELAND’s bishops have announced the end of the Church’s relationship with a major adoption-service provider in the province following legislation upholding the legal right of same-sex couples to adopt, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

In a strongly worded statement, the bishops described the dilemma arising from the law that obliges faith-based organisations to “act against their fundamental and reasonable religious beliefs in the provision of services that contribute to the common good”.

Comparing their plight to that faced by the bishops of England and Wales on the same issue, which forced them to disengage from adoption agencies the Church had founded, the Northern Irish bishops said it was “unreasonable” and “a further erosion of their fundamental right to exercise freedom of conscience and religion in the public square”.

They explained that since the provision of adoption services in Northern Ireland now involves acting against the Church’s teaching and ethos, they had no option but to end their long-established relationship with the former Catholic adoption agency, the Family Care Society, which has offices in Belfast and Derry.

The announcement follows the outcome of a judicial review of adoption law in Northern Ireland initiated by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in 2011. In October 2012, the High Court ruled that couples who are not married and same-sex couples could, for the first time, apply to adopt. This judgment was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2013. An application by the Department of Health to the United Kingdom Supreme Court seeking leave to appeal the Court of Appeal judgment was turned down in December 2013.