<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-article-title">Christian couple barred from adoption over views on same-sex parenting</h1>
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                <div class="gmail-article-author">by <strong><a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/author/staff-reporter/" title="Posts by Staff Reporter" rel="author">Staff Reporter</a></strong></div>

                <div class="gmail-article-date">posted <time datetime="2016-11-07 10:10:06">Monday, 7 Nov 2016</time></div>
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                <div class="gmail-article-featured"><a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/11/07/christian-couple-barred-from-adoption-over-views-on-same-sex-parenting/">http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/11/07/christian-couple-barred-from-adoption-over-views-on-same-sex-parenting/</a><br><br>........<br>A British couple have been barred from adopting their foster 
children because of their “concerning” views about same-sex parenting.</div>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>The couple decided to try to adopt their two foster children 
themselves </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>after finding out </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>that a gay <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">couple</span> were prospective parents</b></span>.
 </p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>The </b></span>unnamed <span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>Christian couple from the Midlands told </b></span>social services 
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>that children need a mother and father. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>Social services said that this 
view could be “detrimental to the long-term needs of the children.”</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>The couple have appealed <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the decision</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> </span>made by social services <span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>in a letter <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">to their local council. </span></b></span></p>
<p>The pair argued that they had “not expressed homophobic views, unless Christian beliefs are, by definition, homophobic.”</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,229,153)"><b>The foster parents had been taking care of the children since the start of 2016.</b></span></p>
<p>A social worker told <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/adoption-ban-on-foster-carers-who-objected-to-gay-parents-c879bpxsg">The Sunday Times</a>
 that<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> despite </span>the couple being praised for their “lovely care and 
warmth”, the pair found the idea of two men adopting the children “very 
challenging” and were shocked over the decision.</p>
<p>The husband in the foster care couple told The Sunday Times: “We 
don’t want to fight or make ideological arguments. We are normal 
people.”</p></div>