WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Philadelphia violated the Constitution by limiting its relationship with a Catholic foster care agency over that group’s refusal to certify same-sex couples as foster parents. The justices have come down unanimously against Philadelphia and for Catholic Social Services. Chief Justice John Robert wrote that the city’s refusal to contract with the Catholic agency unless that group “agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.” Catholic Social Services is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The agency has said that its Catholic beliefs prevent it from certifying same-sex couples as foster parents.
