{"id":566982,"date":"2021-06-17T13:36:38","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T17:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=566982"},"modified":"2021-06-17T13:36:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T17:36:44","slug":"religious-freedom-advocates-celebrate-after-scotus-sides-with-catholic-group-on-gay-couple-foster-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/religious-freedom-advocates-celebrate-after-scotus-sides-with-catholic-group-on-gay-couple-foster-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Freedom Advocates Celebrate After SCOTUS Sides With Catholic Group On Gay Couple Foster Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freligious-freedom-advocates-celebrate-after-scotus-sides-with-catholic-group-on-gay-couple-foster-parents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=566982&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-120659051.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>Religious freedom advocates celebrated after the Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Catholic group that rejects same-sex couples as foster parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the Court\u2019s unanimous decision, Chief Justice Roberts made clear that the city cannot exclude \u2026 Catholic Social Services simply because city officials disagree with the religious agency\u2019s sincere Catholic beliefs about marriage,\u201d the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which legally represented the Catholic group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.becketlaw.org\/media\/unanimous-supreme-court-protects-foster-moms-200-year-old-ministry\/\">said<\/a> in a press release on the ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Justices also recognized that protecting faith-affirming agencies will ensure foster children in need have every opportunity available to find a loving home,\u201d the Becket Fund added.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea Patterson Sobolik, policy director for the Southern Baptist Convention\u2019s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, celebrated the decision as a \u201chuge victory\u201d for religious liberty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis ruling in Fulton means that children who need safe, permanent, and loving homes will be served by a foster-care system that welcomes all who are qualified to serve those in need,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChelsPat\/status\/1405542341386006532\">wrote<\/a> on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>The Court ruled unanimously that Philadelphia discriminated against Catholic Social Services, which city officials had dropped from the city\u2019s foster care program because the group refused to approve same-sex couples as foster parents.<\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia refused to contract with the Roman Catholic adoption agency, citing the city\u2019s requirement that contractors agree to treat all residents equally, including\u00a0same-sex couples.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the majority saying that Philadelphia violated the First Amendment rights of the religious group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCSS seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else,\u201d Roberts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/20pdf\/19-123_g3bi.pdf\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an initial matter, it is plain that the City\u2019s actions have burdened CSS\u2019s religious exercise by putting it to the choice of curtailing its mission or approving relationships inconsistent with its beliefs,\u201d the chief justice wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts noted that Philadelphia has the ability to grant exemptions from its nondiscrimination policy and said the city failed to show a compelling interest in refusing to grant such an exemption to Catholic Social Services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have never suggested that the government may discriminate against religion when acting in its managerial role,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Joining Roberts in his opinion were Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch also approved of the decision in the case but disagreed with Roberts on why.<\/p>\n<p>Gorsuch criticized as flawed a 1990 case that Thursday\u2019s decision relied upon, Employment Division v. Smith, which opened the door to allow state and local governments to prohibit discrimination in certain situations. He suggested that the majority\u2019s narrow ruling in Thursday\u2019s case may be the result of the justices\u2019 reluctance to pick a side on the controversial issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe particular appeal before us arises at the intersection of public accommodations laws and the First Amendment; it involves same-sex couples and the Catholic Church,\u201d Gorsuch wrote. \u201cPerhaps our colleagues believe today\u2019s circuitous path will at least steer the Court around the controversial subject matter and avoid \u2018picking a side.\u2019 But refusing to give CSS the benefit of what we know to be the correct interpretation of the Constitution is picking a side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese cases will keep coming until the Court musters the fortitude to supply an answer,\u201d Gorsuch said.<\/p>\n<p>Alito offered a similar critique of Robert\u2019s reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision might as well be written on the dissolving paper sold in magic shops,\u201d Alito wrote. \u201cThe City has been adamant about pressuring CSS to give in, and if the City wants to get around today\u2019s decision, it can simply eliminate the never-used exemption power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) expressed his approval of the decision on Twitter but added that it was a \u201cmissed opportunity\u201d to protect religious liberty further.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">\u201cThe <\/span><span class=\"r-18u37iz\">#SCOTUS<\/span><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\"> decision in Fulton sends a clear message: government cannot discriminate against churches &#038; religious groups on the basis of their faith. Government can\u2019t treat secular groups better than religious ones. No discrimination!\u201d Hawley tweeted Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it was also a missed opportunity to overrule Smith. The Smith decision was wrong the day it was decided and should be overruled,\u201d the Missouri Republican added.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia decided against Catholic Social Services, ruling that the city did not target the Archdiocese of Philadelphia\u2019s agency.<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys for Catholic Social Services said at the time that Philadelphia\u2019s decision to boot the adoption service from the city\u2019s program had stopped dozens of families who were looking to adopt from being able to do so for close a year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re disappointed that the court decided to let the city place politics above the needs of kids and the rights of parents, but we will continue this fight,\u201d Becket Senior Counsel Lori Windham <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/84ea70ed3ce045c0991ff4585520f849\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Religious freedom advocates celebrated after the Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Catholic group that rejects same-sex couples as foster parents.\u201cIn the Court\u2019s unanimous decision, Chief Justice Roberts made &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280602,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-120659051.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Religious Freedom Advocates Celebrate After SCOTUS Sides With Catholic Group On Gay Couple Foster Parents","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-120659051.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Religious Freedom Advocates Celebrate After SCOTUS Sides With Catholic Group On Gay Couple Foster Parents","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}