ILLINOIS: Catholic Church Drops Lawsuits, Closes Agencies Rather Than Comply

Three Catholic dioceses in Illinois have dropped their lawsuits against the state and closed their adoption agencies rather than comply with a state law commanding that they not discriminate against gay couples.

“The decision not to pursue further appeals was reached with great reluctance, but was necessitated by the fact that the State of Illinois has made it financially impossible for our agencies to continue to provide these services,” said Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, and Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Joliet. “Since we now need to close offices and lay off employees, further appeals would be moot,” the bishops said. Catholic Charities branches from the dioceses of Belleville, Springfield, Peoria, and Joliet had filed a lawsuit in June against the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the state’s Department of Children and Family Services to prevent them from ending state contracts for foster care and adoption programs with the charities.

See what he did right there? Even though the state was paying the zillionaire Catholic Church to provide adoption services, it's the state's fault that the bishops would rather see homeless kids than happy gay families.