A couple from Massachusetts is suing the Department of Children and Families (DCF) after they were reportedly blocked from fostering children due to their beliefs on gender, sexuality and marriage.

Devout Catholics Mike and Catherine "Kitty" Burke, represented by the religious liberty group Becket Law, claimed that the state denied their fostering application because they "would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA."

During an appearance on Fox News's "The Story," the Burkes said they plan to take the matter to court because they believe their rejection indicates that the state is refusing to allow religious applicants to foster children.

"We believe the reason we were rejected is because we were very vocal in the fact that we are practicing Catholics, very traditional Catholics, and we stand firm in the church's beliefs on traditional marriage and sexuality. And that was pretty clear in their reasoning," Kitty told host Martha MacCallum.

"We were absolutely shocked when we got the decision," she continued. "The real issue at stake here is whether or not religious families should be allowed to foster and adopt here in the state of Massachusetts Massachusetts' own law says all people of faith are allowed to participate in society."

Mike noted that the couple was informed that they would not be able to foster a child because they "didn't follow the 'LGBTQ+ policies of the state.'"

"If you look into it further, you can see they match it up with our Catholic faith," he said.

Mike also said he told the department that if he had a child who wanted to identify as a member of the LGBTQ community, he would still love that child regardless of their differences in beliefs.

"One of the things of our Catholic faith is we love one another as God has loved us. I love every person, do I agree with it? No. It's [a matter of] hate the sin not the sinner. I would love that child no matter [what]. Just like my mother loved me whenever I did something wrong," he said.

According to the New York Post, the lawsuit included a letter informing the Burkes that their application had been rejected because those who apply to be foster parents must "promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of a child placed in his or her care, including supporting and respecting a child's sexual orientation or gender identity."

The lawsuit also seeks to restrict Massachusetts from using LGBTQ accommodations to refuse to provide foster licenses to religious applicants.

During the Fox News interview, the couple's attorney, Lori Windham, argued that the state should not afford to exclude religious families from the foster care system, given the current shortage of available foster homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Massachusetts has a shortage of loving homes to welcome, foster and adopted children," Windham said. "They have hundreds of children who are waiting for homes today. What's so disturbing about this is they [if] are excluding faithful Catholics like Mike and Kitty. They would also be by the same standard, excluding people from other faiths who have beliefs about marriage and sexuality and gender. They can't afford to do that when they have so many children who are in need of homes right now. What they have said to Mike and Kitty is we won't allow any child to be placed in your home."

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