U.S. Supreme Court to hear Catholic agency appeal over same-sex foster care

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a major religious rights dispute involving the city of Philadelphia's refusal to place children for foster care with a Catholic agency that bars same-sex couples from serving as foster parents.

The justices will take up an appeal by Catholic Social Services, an arm of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that accused the city of violating the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and religion. A lower court ruled in 2018 that the religious views of the organization did not entitle it to an exemption from the city's anti-discrimination policies.