City, Church Battle Over Gay Marriage

Ed Orzechowski, President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, joined us with more.

On The Net:

http://www.catholiccharitiesdc.org/

There's a new twist on the debate over the D.C. same-sex marriage bill. Now, the Archdiocese of Washington, which opposes the bill, says if it passes, the Diocese may not be able to provide its social service programs to the city.

The move could threaten tens of thousands that get help from the church's programs with adoption, homeless shelters and foster care programs.

The debate over the D.C. same-sex marriage bill has escalated between those who support it and those who don't. Now the Archdiocese of Washington has upped the ante by saying the social services it offers throughout the District could be in jeopardy if the bill passes.

"That means the city is putting restrictions on us-- barring us from continuing to serve at the level we have," says Archdiocese spokesperson Susan Gibbs.

The Archdiocese's social arm is Catholic Charities. It essentially forms the partnership with the District on dozens of different social services that affects more than 68,000 people.

One of the biggest is the homeless program. It serves more than a third of the city's homeless population. This along with adoption and foster care would be the hardest hit.

Under the bill, religious organizations are exempt and from authorizing a same-sex marriage or providing religious counseling or education. But organizations would be required to obey city laws which prohibit the discrimination against gays and lesbians. If the bill gets the green light, then the Archdiocese says it would be forced to stop providing services because the law goes against its beliefs.

"But being Catholic is far more than that. It is every part of our faith. It permeates in out office life. It permeates in our office benefits our adoption services our foster care services," says Gibbs.

Council Member Mary Cheh says she doesn't believe the Archdiocese is serious about pulling the plug on contracted services.

"It signals to me a little bit of desperation because they oppose it and I understand that. That's their right to oppose that but they are coming out of left field-- it seems to me to try to figure out how they can up the ante," says Cheh.

She hopes the Archdiocese will reconsider its stance and take a different look at what the legislation is hoping to achieve.

"To me, it's essentially straightforward. We don't want to authorize people to discriminate. One of the things we are trying to do with this legislation is to provide folks with an opportunity to be on equal footing with others. They shouldn't be second-class citizens. We don't want to tell them through the back door-- say you really are," says Cheh.

The council is expected to pass the same-sex marriage bill next month. But the measure continues to face opposition from a number of groups hoping to push for a referendum on the issue.