The bishops of the Belleville, Joliet and Springfield dioceses today dropped their lawsuit against the state of Illinois on behalf of Catholic Charities.
The bishops sued on the grounds of religious freedom, stating Catholic Charities was allowed to refrain from placing children with civil union couples in accord with its belief to place children with married couples.
A judge in August ruled Catholic Charities did not have property rights to state contracts.
The bishops sought a stay of the ruling in the appeals court, but were denied.
Read the bishops' joint statement on Catholic Charities Lawsuit