Catholic Church: “If we can’t discriminate, we won’t help your poor”

Yet another example of the Church’s shining beacon of morality: they are threatening to cut their social services to the neediest Washington, D.C. residents, if the District passes a same-sex marriage bill that dares to demand that they not discriminate against gays and lesbians – ie. that they obey city laws. That is so demanding of the Church, isn’t it?

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

"If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

Bullshit. This has nothing to do with secularism and everything to do with simply preventing organizations (such as, primarily, the Church) from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientations (amongst other things). You know, you can still possess, and even preach, your bigoted views without actually persecuting gays. Or are the two not mutually exclusive to you?

The Church is clearly showing, here, how they have no intention to follow actual laws other than their own, and how they have no problem with leaving hundreds and thousands of helpless denizens to rot simply because said laws would prevent them from acting like bigots towards homosexuals. Someone, tell me again how the Church is a source of good morality? Hmm?

(via @todayspolitics)
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