…to the bishops of Massachusetts, in the matter of adoption:

While respecting the church’s right to its opinion, it has become increasingly hard to demonstrate what harm might come from gay adoptions. Many studies, including a 2004 article in the journal Child Development, research from 2002 by the Child Welfare League of America, and a major survey in 1995 by the American Psychological Association all conclude that children brought up by single-sex couples were virtually identical to other children in academic performance, socialization, and sexual orientation. One study indicated a very slightly greater willingness by girls brought up by lesbian parents to ignore gender stereotypes and seek training as doctors, lawyers, and engineers. The Vatican may be moved in part by Massachusetts’ legalization of single-sex marriages, but again, with the law in effect for more than 21 months, the institution of heterosexual marriage has survived quite well.

Also, while respecting the church’s immediate predicament, it is hard to sympathize with an absolutist approach. The church abhors poverty, and works valiantly worldwide to relieve it, but doesn’t sell every painting in the effort or scorn the support of the wealthy. Also, Mayor Ray Flynn, while not an agent of the church, was an ardent opponent of abortion, but did nothing to stop them at City Hospital, because it was the law.