Today, the Washington Post and local blogs reported that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington has informed employees that spousal benefits will no longer be offered to future employees or the future spouses of present employees. The agency's new policy comes in the wake of the D.C. Council's recent vote to approve same-sex marriage--a move that becomes law tomorrow. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. had warned late last year that the D.C. council's excessively narrow religious exemption could make it impossible for Catholic Charities to be in compliance with city contracts. In February, Catholic Charities closed its foster care and adoption services. Critics of Archbishop Wuerl's position had argued that he should adopt the so-called "San Francisco option" that provided health benefits to one other person residing in an employee's household. Approved by then Archbishop Levada of San Francisco, the policy sought to avoid any explicit support for same-sex civil unions that had been approved by the city. However, Archbishop Wuerl contended that the legal and political context in the District was different: the council's language requiring all city contractors to be in compliance with the new same-sex marriage law would require the church to affirm such unions--a move that would contradict Catholic teaching on marriage.
Here's my piece on the issue in the National Catholic Register, published a few days later. By then Chief Justice John Roberts had refused a request by opponants of gay marriage to stay the law. Yesterday, jubilant gay and lesbian couples lined up yesterday to get their marriage licenses.
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