Detroit — Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law measures to protect faith-based child adoption agencies from being forced to violate their religious beliefs June 11 in a move strongly praised by the Michigan Catholic Conference as protecting the valuable role of faith-based charities in administering public services.

The legislation drew strong criticism from Democrats in both the House and Senate, but Republicans and faith-based leaders countered that the measures merely codify into law existing practices allowing space for both religious and non-religious charities to operate in the public square.

“The state of Michigan has sought the participation and support of faith-based child placement agencies for decades, so we welcome this legislation that will solidify the relationship for the sake of vulnerable children,” said Tom Hickson, Michigan Catholic Conference vice president for public policy and advocacy.

With an impending Supreme Court decision that could potentially reverse Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, there were concerns by some that without protections, religious charities could be forced to cooperate in placing children with same-sex couples in violation of their own beliefs and mission regarding the family.

In April, Catholic leaders wrote a letter to Gov. Snyder explaining that should such a situation have arisen, such agencies would have been forced to abandon their child placement work altogether.

In a June 3 Legatus forum on marriage and family, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron reiterated that point, saying the Church could not in good conscience continue providing a service if it was forced to act contrary to its own teachings. The archbishop questioned whether “our fellow citizens really take us seriously,” but said “we’re not bluffing” about not being able to cooperate in a way the Church sees as immoral.

“If we don’t get protection, we’re going to have to give up this ministry,” he said.

Such a loss of faith-based agencies would have been seriously detrimental to the state’s ability to place children with new families, given that nearly 20 percent of the state’s 62 adoption agencies operate under a faith-based charter.

In the letter to Gov. Snyder, Paul A. Long, president of the Michigan Catholic Conference, said Catholic agencies have long been noted for their exceptional quality of care and consistently ranked among the best in the state for their ability to provide additional services and options — such as immediate mental health counseling and personalized care — often not available through public agencies.

“As entities that operate according to a specific religious mission, Catholic Charities agencies provide services in harmony with the tenants of the Catholic faith. It is the essence and crux of who we are and have always been,” Long wrote. “Our faith guides each agency’s mission to meet the needs of children and address their issues through love, respect and diligence.”

Though faith-based agencies do receive public funding to carry out their work, such contracts have provided immense benefits to the state, which would otherwise lack the resources to care for Michigan’s more than 13,000 vulnerable and foster children.

Long noted that in other states that have stripped away protections for faith-based agencies, such as Massachusetts, Illinois and Washington D.C., children and families have suffered the ramifications as agencies were forced to shutter.

“Communities in these areas witnessed the loss of a collective 300-year history of invaluable and effective services on behalf of vulnerable children and persons,” Long said. “It has been publicly stated that caseloads in these places were simply shifted to other agencies; it is privately known among outgoing agency directors that cases and families were disrupted, already transient children were again shuffled around, important services were lost, and state child welfare agencies took on more than they could handle.”

“None of this was necessary,” Long continued. “However, the religious agencies were given the untenable choice of terminating services or operating in a manner inconsistent with their sincerely held and long-standing religious beliefs and teachings, specifically as they relate to the family.”