A Catholic couple in the United Kingdom have failed in a legal attempt to block the adoption of two of their sons by a gay couple.
The parents, of Slovak Roma origin, had asked that the children be adopted by a Catholic family.
The parents’ four children were taken into care in Kent last year.
Social workers found the children were dirty, unkempt and overly chastised, and the older ones were not going to school.
The father admitted to having beaten his children.
But a court found they were unwilling to change their parenting or accept criticism.
So the two youngest boys, aged two and four, were put up for adoption by court order.
Mrs Justice Theis, who made the initial order, said that any adoption placement should be “sensitive to their needs and identity”.
But the parents argued the plan by the Kent County Council to place the boys with a gay couple did not fulfil this.
The parents said the adopters’ lifestyle was contrary to their Roma culture and the adoption plan amounted to social engineering.
They also said the adoption could cause psychological harm for the boys later in life because of the clash between their birth culture and the lifestyle of the adopting couple.
“The children will not be able to be brought up in the Catholic faith because of the conflicts between Catholicism and homosexuality,” the parents continued.
But the High Court upheld the adoption plan.
Sir James Munby, president of the Family Division, said “The children’s welfare needs outweigh the impact that adoption would have on their Roma identity”.
Any judge should “respect the opinions of those who come here from a foreign land”, he said.
But he had to judge matters according to English law and by reference to “the standards of reasonable men and women in contemporary English society”, Sir James added.
He described as “unnecessary and hurtful” a court report submitted by social workers that stated the parents views on homosexuality could be perceived as bigoted.
The parents say they will appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights.
Sources
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