Headline Roundup • August 11th, 2023
Catholic Couple in Massachusetts Denied Foster Care Application Over LGBTQ+ Views
Religion And Faith,Mike And Kitty Burke,Foster Care,Massachusetts,Catholic Church,Christian,LGBTQ Issues,Family And Marriage,Parenting,Culture War
Summary from the AllSides News Team
This week, a Catholic couple in Massachusetts filed a complaint over the denial of their application to become foster parents.
Key Details: Mike and Catherine "Kitty" Burke filed the complaint against Massachusetts' health secretary and Department of Children and Families officials after their application was denied over their responses to questions about LGBTQ+ people. The couple is seeking “nominal and compensatory damages.”
Key Quotes: “We believe the reason we were rejected is because we were very vocal in the fact that we are practicing Catholics, very traditional Catholics, and we stand firm in the church’s beliefs on traditional marriage and sexuality. And that was pretty clear in their reasoning,” Kitty said in a Fox News (Right bias) interview. When answering a question in the foster care application about how they'd feel if their child identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or any other sexuality, Kitty said, "There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m going to love you the same, but I believe you would need to live a chaste life." In rejecting the Burke's application, one state licensing official said they're "lovely people" but "their faith is not supportive and neither are they."
How the Media Covered it: Sources across the political spectrum covered the story, with many noting the lengthy interviews and training process that were required of the Burke's. Left-rated sources focused more on the specifics of the couple's LGBTQ+ views.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Courtesy Burke Family
A Massachusetts couple filed a complaint this week against the state’s health secretary and multiple officials in the Department of Children and Families after their application to become foster parents was denied over their stance on LGBTQ people.
Michael and Catherine “Kitty” Burke began the monthslong application process with the DCF to foster or adopt a child in January 2022, according to the complaint. The process involved screenings to gauge the couple’s views on raising children from historically marginalized groups, including LGBTQ children.
A social worker’s report attached to the complaint...
Andrea York Photography via Becket
A Catholic couple in Massachusetts is suing the state after being rejected as foster parents because of their beliefs about marriage, sexuality and gender.
Mike and Kitty Burke explored becoming foster parents through the Massachusetts Department of Child and Families’ foster care program, which included months of training, home visits and extensive interviews, hoping to eventually adopt children.
“After years of heartbreak, we were on the verge of finally becoming parents. We were absolutely devastated to learn that Massachusetts would rather children sleep in the hallways of hospitals than let...
Fox Newa
A Massachusetts couple suing the state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) say they were “shocked” when they were first informed of the reason their foster application was denied.
Mike and Catherine “Kitty” Burke, both devout Catholics, filed a federal lawsuit this week with the help of religious liberty group Becket Law, claiming that the state restricted them from fostering children due to their adherence to Catholic teachings on gender, sexuality and marriage.
The couple said the state listed only one reason for denying their foster application, which was that they “would...
