BRITAIN:The Roman Catholic Church has been accused of trying to "blackmail" the Blair government in an escalating row over adoption, and proposed new laws to protect the rights of gay couples.
The charges followed a warning from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor that the church would be forced to close down its adoption agencies unless granted an exemption from new regulations banning discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services.
The lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, insisted yesterday that people could not be exempted from anti-discrimination law on grounds of religion. However, the cardinal countered that forcing church agencies to consider adoption applications from homosexual couples contrary to Catholic teaching would amount to discrimination on grounds of belief.
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, the leader of the church in England and Wales, dramatically raised the stakes in the growing political battle in a letter to Mr Blair and members of the cabinet. In it he warned: "We believe it would be unreasonable, unnecessary and unjust discrimination against Catholics for the government to insist that if they wish to continue to work with local authorities, Catholic adoption agencies must act against the teaching of the church and their own consciences by being obliged in law to provide such a service."
With the church's agencies said to handle some 4 per cent, or about 200, of all adoptions a year - and about one third of those children judged difficult to place - the cardinal said "it would be an unnecessary tragedy" if new legislation forced the closure of these services "thereby reducing the potential resources of adoptive families for the approximately 4,000 children" awaiting placements.
The cardinal also stressed this outcome was "wholly avoidable" since gay couples applying to church agencies were already referred on to other agencies who would consider their application.
His letter was seen as a last attempt to bolster communities secretary Ruth Kelly in her reported attempt to secure an exemption for the church agencies. And while threatening a cabinet and Labour Party split, the indications were that Mr Blair is in the market for a compromise. The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Blair had yet to make up his mind on the issues raised by the cardinal.
Asserting this was "not a straightforward black and white issue", the spokesman said: "This is an issue with sensitivities on all sides. The prime minister recognises that and that is why it is worth having some discussions in government before we come to a decision."
Lord Falconer earlier told the BBC he did not want to see any of the agencies close. However, he said: "If we take the view as a society that we should not discriminate against people who are homosexual, you cannot give exclusions to people on the grounds that their religion or their race says 'we do not agree with that'."
Former minister Angela Eagle said an exemption "can't seriously be demanded" and "can't sensibly be given". The Rev Martin Reynolds, director of communications for the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, said it was "sad to see the Roman Catholic Church holding the government to ransom".
Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society argued: "The Catholic Church must not be permitted to control the legislature through this kind of blackmail."