A Christian couple who raised objections to the children they were fostering being adopted by a gay couple have been told that they cannot adopt the children themselves thanks to their “concerning” views.
The couple are understood to have written to their local council, believed to be in the south Midlands, to appeal the decision, saying they had “not expressed homophobic views, unless Christian beliefs are, by definition, homophobic”.
Andrea Williams, an evangelical member of the Church of England’s General Synod and director of the Christian Legal Centre, said the couple’s viewpoint was “lawful and mainstream”.
The husband and wife applied to adopt the young children two days after hearing that two men were being lined up as prospective parents. They said the children, who had been with them since the beginning of the year when they were both of pre-school age, needed a mother and a father, The Times has reported.
But despite earlier praising them for their “lovely care and warmth”, social services countered that the couple’s views could be “detrimental to the long-term needs of the children”.
A social worker noted that the couple had found the idea of two men adopting the children “very challenging”, and, expressing shock at the notion, “asked if this was a joke”. The couple then moved to adopt the children themselves as they felt it would be best for the children’s “emotional wellbeing”.
The council replied: “Having heard that the prospective adopters were a same-sex couple you shared opinions in relation to this proposed placement which are concerning.”
The husband told The Sunday Times: “We don’t want to fight or make ideological arguments. We are normal people.”
When asked how he would respond if one of the children came out as gay, he answered: “It is hard to accept, but we would accept it.”
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