Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia hopes to takes its case arguing it can discriminate against same-sex couples to the US Supreme Court. A Catholic foster care agency has asked the US Supreme Court to overrule a federal appeals court decision rejecting its claim that it enjoys a religious freedom right to maintain a contract with the city of Philadelphia while refusing to provide services to married same-sex couples. The July 22 petition, filed by Catholic Social Services (CSS), which is operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, seeks to overturn an April 22 ruling from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. CSS had sued the city when it was informed it would be disqualified from certifying eligible foster parents if it did not drop its discriminatory policy. The agency claims it is not covered by Philadelphia’s ordinance banning discrimination in public accommodations and that its religiously-based policy is protected by the First Amendment. Catholic foster care and adoption services in several other cities have closed down rather than agree to drop their policies denying services to same-sex couples. CSS argues that it will suffer the same fate, since its services can only legally be provided under a contract with the […]
