[Apologetics] Christian adoption agency rejects Roman Catholic couples, saying faiths are in conflict

[Art Kelly]

Christian adoption agency rejects Roman Catholic
couples, saying faiths are in conflict
July 16, 2005, 10:26 AM
at
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw118481_20050716.htm


JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The president of a Christian
adoption agency based in Michigan says the
organization does not flatly prohibit Roman Catholic
couples from adopting, but allows state branches to
determine their own policies. 

The Mississippi branch of Bethany Christian Services
of Grand Rapids, Mich., told a Jackson couple this
month that the Catholic religion conflicts with the
agency's "Statement of Faith," and another Mississippi
couple said they were rejected for the same reason
last year. 

The agency's policy has come under scrutiny in part
because the group gets money from fees from
Mississippi's Choose Life license plates. 

"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does
not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany's
state director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to
not accept applications from Catholics was an effort
to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time,
money and emotional energy." 

The organization that parcels out proceeds raised from
the sale of the Choose Life plates has asked to review
the policy of a private adoption agency after learning
the group will not consider Catholics as adoptive
parents. 

"We are receiving information from Bethany for our
board," Geraldine Gray of Choose Life Mississippi said
Friday. "We'll look at the information they forward to
us to get a clearer understanding." 

Messages were left for the agency in Mississippi. 

Motorists pay an additional fee of $31 for the
specialized car tag.Of $244,000 generated by the sale
of the tags in 2004, Bethany received $7,053, Gray
said. 

Though the fee passes through state coffers, it is
considered a private donation, said Kathy Waterbury of
the Mississippi Tax Commission. 

"They aren't public funds in that we are collecting
money on behalf of the organization the tag
represents," she said. 

Proceeds from the sale of Choose Life car tags go to
the nonprofit organization Choose Life Mississippi.
That agency then distributes funds to nonprofit
organizations that have applied to receive a portion
of the money. 

Gray said any anti-abortion organization can apply for
the funds by downloading a form from the group's Web
site. 

The two-page application asks applicants to describe
how they work with women who come in for pregnancy
tests, how many women they refer for adoption and to
verify the organization's nonprofit status, Gray said.


"We've never denied anyone who applied," Gray said,
explaining Choose Life Mississippi aims to support
organizations that don't refer women to abortion
providers. "What we're interested in is saving
babies." 

Sandy and Robert Steadman, who learned of Bethany's
decision in a July 8 letter, said their priest told
them the faith statement did not conflict with
Catholic teaching. 

Loria Williams of nearby Ridgeland said she and her
husband, Wes, had a similar experience when they
started to pursue an adoption in September 2004. 

"I can't believe an agency that's nationwide would act
like this," Loria Williams said. "There was an agency
who was Christian-based but wasn't willing to help
people across the board." 

Bethany has 75 offices in 30 states, including three
in Mississippi. The offices are independently
incorporated and are affiliated with various
religions, spokesman John VanValkenburg said from the
agency headquarters. 

He couldn't say whether any were Catholic-affiliated.
The Jackson office is affiliated with the Presbyterian
Church of America, he said. 

Glenn DeMots, president of Bethany, said on Friday
that the policy is open to interpretation. 

He said the national office does not ban adoptions to
Catholic families, but does allow each branch to
establish rules for the placement of children based on
the agency's "Statement of Faith." 

VanValkenburg said the offices in Mississippi do not
receive any public money but that some offices in
other states do, for example, because they are
involved in foster care. 

Stewart told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that Bethany's
board will review its policy, but she didn't specify
which aspects will be addressed. 

The agency's Web site says all Bethany staff and
adoptive applicants personally agree with the faith
statement, which describes belief in the Christian
Church and the Scripture. It does not refer to any
specific branches of Christianity. 

"As the Savior, Jesus takes away the sins of the
world," the statement says in part. "Jesus is the one
in whom we are called to put our hope, our only hope
for forgiveness of sin and for reconciliation with God
and with one another." 

------ 

On the Net: 

Bethany Christian Services, http://www.bethany.org 

Choose Life Mississippi, http://www.mschoose-life.org 


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