LESBIAN COUPLE SUES OVER REFUGEE

Catholic org. turns away foster parents

AUSTIN, Texas — Two women are suing the Trump administration after the couple say they were told they could not foster a refugee child because they don’t “mirror the Holy Family.”

Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin, both professors at Texas A&M University, said they were turned away by Catholic Charities Fort Worth after they expressed interest in applying to be foster parents to a refugee child. Catholic Charities, which has multiple regional offices, is the only organization in Texas that works with the federal government to resettle unaccompanied refugee children here.

Catholic Charities’ program is overseen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, one of two lead agencies that partners with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. With the help of the LGBT legal group Lambda Legal, the couple is suing both the Conference and U.S. Health and Human Services, claiming the decision to reject their interest in foster care violated the U.S. Constitution.

In a statement, the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth did not comment on the couple’s specific allegations but insisted their refugee foster care rules comply with all federal regulations and laws.

“Finding foster parents — and other resources — for refugee children is difficult work,” Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson said. “It would be tragic if Catholic Charities were not able to provide this help, in accordance with the Gospel values and family, assistance that is so essential to these children who are vulnerable to being mistreated as meaningless in society.”

Marouf, who was raised Muslim, and Esplin, a Mormon, have been married for the past three years. They moved to Texas in 2016 and reside in Fort Worth. In their lawsuit, the couple claim administrators at the Catholic Charities Fort Worth invited Marouf to learn about their foster care program for refugee kids.

But when Marouf and Esplin showed up for an interview, they claim they were told they did not “qualify” to be foster parents. Donna Springer, chairwoman of the organization’s board of directors executive committee, allegedly told the couple that foster parents must “mirror the Holy Family,” according to the suit.

Marouf, who directs the A&M School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic, said the agency put its religious views over the best interests of the kids in their care.

“Refugee children have been through enough trauma to last a lifetime,” Marouf, 41, said. “They need love, stability, and support, which Bryn and I have in abundance.”

Esplin, 33, who designed the curricula for the A&M College of Medicine’s child and adolescent psychiatry bioethics fellows, added: “Being denied the opportunity to foster a child because we don’t ‘mirror the Holy Family’ — clearly code for being a same-sex couple — was hurtful and insulting to us.”