Gay Adoption Flap Signals Demise of First Amendment
              The struggle of the Roman Catholic Church with state leaders over whether the social agency Catholic Charities can be exempt from providing adoption options to gay and lesbian couples is a clear sign that religious freedom is in serious jeopardy in Massachusetts. 
              Monday, Gov. Mitt Romney, reacting to the conflict said “We’re continuing to look to see if there’s a way that we can act to provide the commonwealth the service of the Catholic Charities with these adoptions they carry out, and at the same time allow the Catholic Church to abide by its teachings and principles.”
              Implicit in the reasoning employed by Romney (and other government officials) is that the state’s anti-discrimination law trumps both the conscience of any individual and canon of any church. 
              In a recent Vatican statement, gay adoptions were labeled as “gravely immoral”.  The four bishops of the Boston Diocese consequently instructed Catholic Charities to cease and desist in placing children with gay or lesbian couples.
              Romney also stated  “What I do believe in is the right of a religious organization to follow the tenets of that faith….The Catholic Church has made it very clear that in order to abide by the tenets of their faith, they will  not be able to participate in gay adoptions”
              Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that many other politicians in the state share Romney’s view of religious liberty.   His own lieutenant governor has gone on record excoriating the Catholic Church for discrimination in the matter.   Rep. Sal DiMasi, the House Speaker, has said "Denying same-sex couples the right to be considered is discriminatory and runs counter to the principle that all citizens are created equal under the law."
              However, in this case, the state isn’t denying anyone the right to adopt.  Gay couples can go to any state agency and adopt a child, as thousands have done.   In the case of the Catholic Charities, the private organization, they are simply applying the standards of morality that are inherent in their mission as a “Catholic” organization.  If they do not have the religious freedom to operate under the tenets of their own faith, then no individual’s religious rights can be deemed safe in the state.