European judgement may affect RC case on adoption

There are moves afoot in Europe for a judgement in the European Court in a controversial gay adoption case to be brought into play in the battle in Britain between the Roman Catholic Church and the Government over the Sexual Orientation Regulations. In 2002 the Court ruled by four to three that Paris social services, and subsequently the French government, had not breached the European Convention on Human Rights when it rejected teacher Philippe Frette's application to adopt on the grounds that he was gay. Now some members of the Bruges Group believe this judgement could help the Catholic Church in Britain. Graham Eardley, the group's West Midlands representative and a member of the CofE's Lichfield diocesan synod, told me: "The Government has made a rod for its own back by introducing the Human Rights Act to the country. But in essence we wish the Catholic Church well. Freedom and liberation should exist on both sides. I hope they will use this to win the argument." Read more