MOVING FORWARD

Catholic Bishops Drop Opposition to Single Lesbian Petitioning to Foster Kid

A lawsuit was filed after Southern Baptist-raised lesbian wanting to foster a child through a religiously affiliated agency was denied.

A gay, unmarried woman is in the process of becoming a licensed foster parent for a refugee child after a national organization of Catholic bishops said it would no longer oppose her. Kelly Bishop, a Tennessee resident raised in a Southern Baptist household, said in a lawsuit filed last October that she had begun inquiring about fostering a refugee child in 2020. She was directed by federal health agents to Bethany Christian Services, an agency near her home and funded by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The agency allegedly told Easter that she, as a LGBTQ+ adult, could not be considered for fostership, blaming a policy mandated by the bishops’ conference. Easter sued the Department of Health and Human Services, alleging discriminatory treatment based on her sexual orientation. She dropped her suit in June, according to Baptist News Global, several months after the USCCB said it would not stand in the way of single LGBTQ+ people becoming foster parents.