Link: FULTON ET AL. v. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL

Supreme Court unanimously rules the city of Philadelphia can't force Catholic group to certify same-sex couples as foster parents without running afoul of the First Amendment.

Quote:Held: The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provisionof foster care services unless CSS agrees to certify same-sex couples asfoster parents violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amend-ment....

Petitioner Catholic Social Services has contracted with the City to provide foster care services for over 50 years, continuing the centuries-old mission of the Catholic Church to serve Philadelphia’s needy children. CSS holds the religious beliefthat marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Because CSS believes that certification of prospective foster families is an en-dorsement of their relationships, it will not certify unmarried cou-ples—regardless of their sexual orientation—or same-sex married cou-ples.

The ruling bolsters the Constitution’s religious-freedom guarantee.

Justices said the city infringed on the rights of the Catholic group by enforcing anti-discrimination requirements in contracts with private agencies screening potential foster families.

So...if you're Catholic, and you follow church teaching, you may freely have rights, so unanimously sayeth the US Supreme Court.