A Catholic adoption agency has lost a two-year battle to be excluded from laws that ban discrimination against homosexuals.
Leeds-based Catholic Care wanted exemption from the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations, which require it to consider gay and lesbian couples as prospective parents.
But a ruling on Tuesday (April 26) by the Charity Tribunal upheld an earlier decision from the Charity Commission. The bishop of Leeds, the Right Rev Arthur Roche, said he was disappointed with the tribunal's ruling. He said: "It is unfortunate that those who will suffer as a consequence of this ruling will be the most vulnerable children, for whom Catholic Care has provided an excellent service for many years. It is an important point of principle that the charity should be able to prepare potential adoptive parents according to the tenets of the Catholic faith."
The row over exemptions for faith-based adoption agencies dates back to 2007, when the regulations were introduced. At the time, the then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, warned that the 11 Catholic adoption agencies would close rather than place children with gay couples.
But the then prime minister, Tony Blair, said there was "no place" for discrimination in British society.
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