Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-123_g3bi.pdf
Page Number: 27

Cite as:  593 U. S. ____ (2021) 

5 

ALITO, J., concurring in judgment
ALITO, J., concurring in judgment 

and local governments to take a more active role, and today
many governments administer what is essentially a licens-
ing system.  As is typical in other jurisdictions, no private
charitable group may recruit, vet, or support foster parents 
in Philadelphia without the City’s approval.

Whether  with  or  without  government  participation,
Catholic foster care agencies in Philadelphia and other cit-
ies have a long record of finding homes for children whose
parents are unable or unwilling to care for them.  Over the 
years,  they  have  helped  thousands  of  foster  children  and 
parents,  and  they  take  special  pride  in  finding  homes  for 
children who are hard to place, including older children and 
those with special needs.17 

Recently,  however,  the  City  has  barred  Catholic  Social 
Services  (CSS)  from  continuing  this  work.  Because  the 
Catholic  Church  continues  to  believe  that  marriage  is  a 
bond  between  one  man  and  one  woman,  CSS  will  not  vet 
same-sex couples.  As far as the record reflects, no same-sex 
couple has ever approached CSS, but if that were to occur,
CSS would simply refer the couple to another agency that
is happy to provide that service—and there are at least 27
such  agencies  in  Philadelphia.    App.  171;  App.  to  Pet.  for
Cert. 137a; see also id., at 286a.  Thus, not only is there no
evidence that CSS’s policy has ever interfered in the slight-
est with the efforts of a same-sex couple to care for a foster 
child, there is no reason to fear that it would ever have that 
effect. 

None of that mattered to Philadelphia.  When a newspa-
per publicized CSS’s policy, the City barred CSS from con-
tinuing its foster care work.  Remarkably, the City took this 

—————— 
Amendments of 1961, 75 Stat. 131. 

17 See  United  States  Conference  of  Catholic  Bishops,  Discrimination
Against Catholic Adoption Services (2018), https://www.usccb.org/issues-
and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Discrimination-against-Catholic-
adoption-services.pdf.