Suffer Not the Children

So much for separation of church and state. In light of Illinois' recent legalization of civil unions, registered gay and unmarried couples are now equally qualified for adoption. Naturally, numerous dioceses had their prayer beads in a bundle over the decision--most notably the Chatholic Charities organization.

A state-funded Catholic group that licenses adoptive couples, Catholic Charities has urged for an amendment that would continue discrimination against gay adoptive hopefuls. Shot down by both the state senate and house, Catholic Charities is attempting to force a concrete judicial ruling on the issue, along with the lawsuit. Specifics of the lawsuit are still under wraps--even though they've made their claims pretty apparent.

But wait, there's more (prejudice)! On top of the lawsuit, Catholic Charities is suspending their state-funded services, while shipping off 350 of their roughly 2,500 foster children to other adoptive agencies.

Catholic Charities claims this is all within their legal rights, but what do you think? Should Catholic Charities be exempt from equal-opportunity adoptive services?

--FLASH STEINBEISER

Previously> Need To Know: Robear Chinosi

Image: AFP/Getty Images