The Catholic and Anglican Churches are praising a decision that overturned a finding favouring a gay couple's bid to become foster parents, with Sydney's Cardinal George Pell calling it a "helpful" step "in the right direction", said The Daily Telegraph. The couple, who were refused access to the Wesley Mission's foster care agency because they are homosexual, had successfully pleaded their case to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, they were awarded $10,000 and the Wesley Mission told to change its practices so it didn't discriminate.
A highly critical appeal panel has however quashed that decision and ordered the original tribunal to hear the case again.
Magistrate Nancy Hennessy instructed the tribunal to take into consideration whether monogamous heterosexual couples are the norm for "Wesleyanism" and whether they might have had to reject the couple in order to preserve their beliefs and not offend people in their religion.
"It is important to protect people from unjust discrimination but it is ridiculous to claim discrimination every time we show a preference for some people over others," Cardinal Pell is quoted as saying in support.
"Anti-discrimination laws should not be used to change how church agencies organise themselves."
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