Last week, Catholic Charities decided it would be preferable to discontinue adoption services in Massachusetts rather than abide by state law to assist gay couples who applied to adopt children. In response, Governor Romney announced that he supports exempting religious groups from anti-discrimination requirements if they happen to oppose them. National Public Radio did an excellent report on this today, which got my blood boiling as I drove to a meeting.

The President, Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, released a statement on March 10 saying that the organization “cannot reconcile the teaching of the Church, which guides our work, and the statutes and regulations of the Commonwealth.”

This should come as no surprise to anyone in Massachusetts. The church could not reconcile its inclination to shield pedophile priests with the statutes and regulations of the Commonwealth, either.

Let’s recap: If you’re a known sex offender, with a proven commitment to harming children, the Catholic church will forgive you, shelter you, show you mercy, and even help you procure access to new victims.

If you’re a gay man or woman with no criminal record and not a shred of scientific evidence to prove that you might be a worse parent than a straight person, then the Church would rather pack up its toys and go home than help a child by associating with the likes of you. As a special bonus, your governor is perfectly willing to trample all over your civil rights to prevent that from happening.

Well, Catholic Charities, all I can say is putting you in charge of the welfare of young children is akin to putting an alcoholic in charge of a bar. Don’t let the screen door of the Commonwealth hit you on the ass on the way out.