A Roman Catholic adoption agency is at the High Court seeking exemption from laws requiring it to allow same-sex couples access to its services.

The Diocese of Leeds' charity Catholic Care is appealing against a Charities Commission ruling stating it cannot discriminate against gay applicants.

The charity said the Equality Act 2006 went against the Catholic Church's teachings on marriage and family life.

Other Catholic adoption agencies have changed their policies or closed.

The appeal comes after the Church lost a battle against the introduction of the Sexual Orientations Regulations, under the Equality Act, which forced agencies to consider gay couples as potential adoptive parents.

In effect, we are being invited either to stop our adoption work or stop being a Catholic charity Mark Wiggin, Catholic Care

Catholic agencies were given a 21-month transition period to comply with the new rules, which ended in December 2008.

Catholic Care, which serves Leeds, Middlesbrough and Hallam in South Yorkshire, had wanted to take advantage of a clause in the act which allows charities to discriminate by amending its charitable objectives.

However, it was barred from doing so by the Charities Commission.

Catholic ideals
Mark Wiggin, chief executive of Catholic Care, said the law meant the charity was being forced to "either stop our adoption work or stop being a Catholic charity".

He said: "The position of Catholic Care is that the introduction of regulations under the Equality Act 2006 is apparently preventing this charity from operating as an adoption charity because it forces us to act outside the ideals of the Catholic Church's teachings on marriage and family life.

"In effect, we are being invited either to stop our adoption work or stop being a Catholic charity.

"Neither of these options is acceptable to our trustees, our beneficiaries or supporters."

The charity said it had helped secure homes for 1,388 "vulnerable" children in Yorkshire since 1963.

Mr Wiggin added: "If Catholic Care is forced to close its adoption services, children would lose an effective and well respected resource in the Yorkshire region."

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: "It is inappropriate for us to comment on this case during the hearing."

The High Court hearing is expected to last two days.

Courtesy of the BBC