THE FEDERALIST/ JOHANNES WIDMALM-DELPHONSE-
Christians have a long history of caring for children in need. The Christian apologist St. Basil the Great opened what is regarded as one of the first orphanages in the fourth century. He dedicated a wing of his monastery to raising and educating orphans where the monastics acted as “surrogate parents.” And here, in what would later become America, some of the first orphanages were founded in the early 18th century by Catholic nuns and Lutherans.
Now, Christians are being shut out of child welfare programs altogether — simply because of their beliefs about the body and our human identities.
That’s what happened to Jessica Bates, and that’s why my firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, is standing with her to challenge an unconstitutional Oregon policy in court. Continue reading…
