The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania waged a brutal legal battle against a Catholic adoption and foster care service over its religion-based refusal to place foster children with same-sex couples, which was even more controversial in today’s “woke” political atmosphere.
However, according to The Washington Times, the ongoing legal battle drew to a close this week following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that marked a massive win for conservatives across the country.
As the newspaper reported last week, the high court sided, 9-0, with Catholic Social Services (CSS) in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, essentially ruling that the religious group had been unlawfully targeted by the city.
Church officials celebrate
The decision was well-received by Catholic Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, who presides over the Catholic diocese where CSS operates.
At a recent press conference in the wake of the SCOTUS ruling, Archbishop Pérez noted that the decision “allows our ministries to continue serving those in need, for foster families to find an agency that shares and reflects their faith, and for foster children to find a loving home.”
“It also protects our enshrined right to religious freedom and celebrates the rich diversity of religious beliefs in the United States,” Pérez added.
A “historic” ruling
According to The Times, Pérez was not alone in celebrating the outcome, as other religious leaders were quick to praise the ruling, including Nathan Diament, who serves as executive director for public policy at the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations.
Diament released a statement hailing the ruling as “historic” and said it was “of critical importance to the American Orthodox Jewish community.”
He went on to add that the ruling “reinstates that robust protection at the constitutional level and thus more potently promises that Jews — along with Americans of all faiths — will have our religious practices protected from government interference.”
Evangelicals agree
Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, also praised the SCOTUS decision, noting that his organization was “delighted that faith-based agencies will be able to continue serving our nation’s most vulnerable children in a way that honors the faith convictions that motivate their efforts.”
“We need an all-hands-on-deck response to the foster care crisis, not government mandates that eliminate an important segment of the population based on their religious beliefs.”
However, not everyone celebrated the 9-0 decision, as plenty of critics were quick to weigh in on the ruling, which could have wide-ranging effects on religion-based foster care agencies around the country. According to NPR, Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David indicated that “this is not the end of the story,” and promised that “there will be additional cases.”
The post Religious groups cheer SCOTUS ruling in favor of Catholic foster agency first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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