Catholic charities who discriminate against homosexual couples who want to adopt children are breaking the law, the Charity Tribunal has ruled.The tribunal ruled that a "heterosexuals only" policy in the adoption field of the Catholic Church in England and Wales would fall foul of the ban on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation brought in two years ago.
The Tribunal's ruling leaves leading charity Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) facing a deep religious impasse and creates a fundamental conflict between the tenets of the Catholic Church and the law of the land.
If the charity now sticks to Church policy and continues to follow its "heterosexuals only" policy it could lose its charity status and public funding.
It might also face discrimination claims by same-sex couples it has turned away in the past.
The ruling means that Catholic Care has been thwarted in its wish to amend its charitable objectives on religious grounds so that it could discriminate against same-sex couples wishing to adopt.
Catholic Care has a respected reputation, particularly in finding new families for "hard to place" children, but has never provided adoption services to homosexuals for religious reasons.
The introduction of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, threw the charity's long-standing position into doubt.
Catholic Care, whose avowed aims include the relief of suffering of impoverished and distressed children, applied to the Charity Commission to amend its statement of objectives so that it could continue to limit its adoption services to heterosexuals only.
The charity wanted to formally incorporate in its objectives a statement that its adoption services would only be provided to heterosexuals "in accordance with the tenets of the Church"
That triggered a lengthy dispute before the Charity Tribunal which has finally ruled that Catholic Care cannot be exempted from the ban on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
The Tribunal expressed no view on "the authenticity of the religious objection" to adoption of children by same-sex couples and recognised the valuable work done by Catholic Care.
However, it ruled that the 2007 regulations apply to charities, just like any other organisation, and that any discrimination against homosexuals in the field of adoption would be unlawful.
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