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The two Madison daily newspapers, the State Journal and the Capital Times, both recently carried major stories about a lawsuit involving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison. The suit, filed by Phoenix Fundraising Counsel, alleges that the Diocese broke its contract after Phoenix refused to disclose certain survey data it considered confidential. I have not seen the lawsuit, so I cannot comment on which side has the legal upper-hand. I do, however, think some claims made in the news stories bear critique.

For instance, the Capital Times story starts out by attacking Bishop Robert Morlino:

It’s not the first time the outspoken, deeply conservative Morlino has been accused of heavy-handed tactics. In 2006, his threat of repercussions against any priest who challenged his hard-line stance against same-sex marriage — including a mandatory, recorded sermon to be aired at Sunday Mass — prompted some area Catholics to lash out in a full page ad in local newspapers.

There’s an awful lot of subjective judgments in there. “Outspoken”? Though probably quoted more often in newspapers than a low profile bishop like Peter Christensen in Superior, he’s probably quoted far less, and saying less controversial things, than former La Crosse bishop Raymond Burke (who was recently appointed by the Pope to a top job at the Vatican). “Deeply conservative”? Orthodox, certainly, but I don’t know that the “deeply conservative” label adds anything to the story. “Heavy-handed tactics” - that’s a totally subjective judgment and shows no regard for the traditional executive role played by a diocesan bishop. His stance against same-sex marriage was no more or less hard-line than that of nearly any other bishop in America. The mandatory playing of a recorded homily is hardly unusual - the cardinal archbishop of Detroit did the same thing before that state’s marriage amendment referendum. And the local Catholics who “lashed out” did so because they are liberals who do not like the universal church’s stance against same-sex marriage. They can take that up with the Pope and the Bible, not Bp. Morlino.

The multi-million-dollar capital campaign was being planned at a time when the diocese was consolidating parishes because of a shortage of priests and confronting criticism from rank-and-file Catholics for placing bricks-and-mortar spending ahead of social justice initiatives.

The consolidation of parishes is a fact of life in many diocese across America. And while there may be a priest shortage, the influential Catholic blog Whispers in the Loggia recently labeled Morlino a “vocational wonder-worker” among American bishops for his increase from six to over 30 candidates from Madison studying for the priesthood.

In a follow-up story, the Capital Times repeated the “social justice” spending line:

[S]ome Catholics have questioned whether it makes sense to spend tens of millions on a new cathedral rather than the needy.

Of course the Christian church is called to care for the needy and to work with social justice in the world. But we are also called to be a temple, a sanctuary for the Spirit of the Lord. While we do that in one way as persons living as the body of Christ, we also do it corporately by providing a physical structure that is home to the tabernacle. One need only read the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament to see the profound importance of having a home for the Lord to dwell in. Moreover, the Code of Canon Law constantly refers to the necessity of each diocese having a cathedral.

Phoenix claims that despite a November 2007 letter to parishioners promising that all survey results would be “considered confidential,” Morlino on March 7 personally pressured Phoenix president and CEO John Richert to turn over the results to him. Morlino demanded the names of priests who expressed concerns or who registered complaints about him in the survey process…

What a total non-sequitur. There was a letter to parishioners promising confidentiality, whereas Bp. Morlino sought information about the survey results from priests. There is a major difference here - while Catholics owe the bishop loyalty and respect, the priests in particular are employed by and responsible to the bishop.

The State Journal story is a more toned down version of the same, though it still tosses the zingers. Without knowing the full facts of the situation, I would suffice it to say that the press in Madison will not give Morlino the benefit of the doubt, and has decided to play this story into their overall Catholic hierarchy is bad narrative. Even if the facts don’t fit that story.

• Remember when he was lampooned? - September 4th, 2008
• The Media has it both ways - September 3rd, 2008
• New MULS Law faculty blog - September 2nd, 2008
• Concluding Convention Thoughts - September 1st, 2008
• Another Nixon Observation - August 30th, 2008