Just about a week ago, Bostonist garnered more comments than we'd ever before received on a single post when we talked about the Massachusetts Catholic archbishops' plan to stop placing children for adoption with same-sex couples, in violation of state anti-discrimination law. At first, the Church seemed confident it would get around the problem hiring a white-shoe law firm to seek an exemption, and although the Governor initially said the matter was out of his hands, he later warmed to the idea of helping the Church. Today, Catholic Charities, the Church-run non-profit that places children for adoption under contract with the state Department of Social Services, threw in the towel. In a press release issued this afternoon, the organization announced it is getting out of the adoption business altogether, explaining, "we have encountered a dilemma we cannot solve." (The statement from C.C. President J. Brian Hehir and Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Kaneb is reproduced after the jump.)

Dreadful as we think this course of action is, Bostonist has to give props to C.C. for sparing us all the embarrassing political spectacle of a legal battle. It was already fixing to be one more area in which Mitt Romney burnished his national conservative credentials at the expense of the Commonwealth. We expect, though, that the chattering classes will now hash this out ad nauseam, with everyone decrying the loss of the good services C.C. provided, then dividing into camps that blame the Commonwealth and camps that blame the Church. You can put Bostonist in the latter group, but we've made that argument already and needn't get into it again.

UPDATE: No sooner did we dare suggest that this might be the end of an annoying political debate, than Governor Romney jumped in (from Tennessee, where he's speaking at a national Republican conference) with proposed legislation that would exempt religious organizations from anti-discrimination laws when it comes to adoption. Bostonist never thought we'd say this, but we kinda hope the uber-racist religion known as The Creativity Movement (formerly, and more famously, World Church of the Creator) comes to Massachusetts and gets into the adoption business, just so Mitt can be embarrassed when his proposal allows an agency to refuse to place kids with black couples.

Photo: Boston Archbishop Sean Cardinal O'Malley.

STATEMENT OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES, ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON ON ADOPTION PROGRAMS

Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, President

Mr. Jeffrey Kaneb, Chair of the Board of Trustees

March 10, 2006

Catholic Charities of Boston has been engaged in a ministry of adoptions for over a century. It was a work originally undertaken and carried forward by a commitment to the welfare of children in need. Both the legacy of this work and the remarkable accomplishments of Catholic Charities’ dedicated staff are a source of great pride to this agency.

The world was very different when Charities began this ministry at the threshold of the twentieth-century. The world changed often and we adapted the ministry to meet changing times and needs. At all times we sought to place the welfare of children at the heart of our work.

But now, we have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve. In spite of much effort and analysis, Catholic Charities of Boston finds that it cannot reconcile the teaching of the Church, which guides our work, and the statutes and regulations of the Commonwealth. The issue is adoption to same-sex couples, and we realize that for many it is a sensitive, deeply felt issue of conscience.

We recognize the complexity of the issue, and we are aware of the debates which have swirled around it. As an agency, however, we simply must recognize that we cannot continue in this ministry. Therefore, we plan to begin discussions with appropriate agencies of the Commonwealth to end our work in adoptions. We will do this in an orderly, planned fashion so that the children we have been entrusted with will be cared for, supported and found permanent homes.

We use this opportunity to pay tribute to a dedicated, highly-qualified staff who have carried out this ministry often with great personal sacrifice. We also wish to thank all those who have supported our work in multiple ways over the past many years. This is an extremely sad decision for Catholic Charities, but our intent and commitment is to carry forward our mission and the other full-range of programs and services to children, teens, families and elders like the more than 200,000 that received services from us last year. Our goal continues to be to serve all those in need; we seek, as we have in the past, to serve the common good of our society.