St. Patrick’s Church in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin / St. Patrick’s Facebook page
St. Louis, Mo., Apr 3, 2023 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
The Diocese of Madison clarified late last week that the Church does not endorse nor oppose specific political candidates after a Wisconsin pastor urged parishioners in his weekly parish bulletin message to vote against state Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz, who is openly pro-abortion.
“The Catholic Church’s involvement in public life doesn’t extend to endorsing candidates for election to public office nor calling for their defeat and thus refrains from partisan political activities. The Church does encourage voter registration and encourages Catholics, as citizens, to vote and to be civically engaged,” the diocese said in a statement sent to CNA.
“However, the Church also has both a duty and a right to call attention to the moral and religious dimensions of public issues, measuring social policies and political activities against the natural moral law and Gospel values. Since the first century, the Church has consistently affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law in its respect for all human life.”
The diocese’s response comes after Father Brian Dulli, pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, urged his parishioners to vote against the pro-abortion candidate in Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election, a race that observers say could have major effects on the legality of abortion in the state.
As reported by Wisconsin Public Radio, an attorney with the activist group Freedom from Religion Foundation, which is based in Madison, wrote to the IRS last week to complain about the bulletin, asking the IRS to revoke St. Patrick’s 501(c)3 nonprofit status.
The April 4 election is between former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly and current Milwaukee judge Protasiewicz. Protasiewicz has spoken openly about her pro-abortion views while insisting that she has made “no promises” to pro-abortion groups that she will seek to overturn the state’s current abortion ban.
In a March 26 parish bulletin, Dulli urged Catholics not to vote for Protasiewicz, saying she has “tried to make this race entirely an effort to legalize abortion in the state of Wisconsin.”
“Abortion is the intentional taking of a human life. It is murder. Our Catholic faith is clear that this is grave sin. It should never be controversial among Catholics to say that you can never intentionally take any action that knowingly will help in the taking of a human life. You cannot publicly support abortion or abortion advocates and remain a Catholic in good standing,” Dulli wrote.
“As a Catholic, I urge you, for the salvation of your soul; do not vote for her [Protasiewicz] in the Supreme Court race on April 4,” he continued.
“I encourage you to study the race carefully and form you [sic] conscience correctly in accordance with the truths of the Catholic faith.”
In his April 2 bulletin message, Dulli acknowledged that the March 26 bulletin “got much more exposure than usual” and reiterated that “given a choice between any two people, we must say ‘absolutely not’ to the person who says abortion should be on the table.”
“We need to say no to a system that demands human sacrifice of the unborn be on the table. Jesus said that we will be judged by what we do to the least among us. Babies are the littlest and least. If someone consents to the killing of unborn children, they will not stop at the destruction of you or your family,” Dulli wrote.
“Haven’t we seen enough destruction now to know it?”
Reached by CNA on Monday, Dulli declined to comment further, saying he believes the situation has been “talked about enough.”
What’s Tuesday’s election all about?
The 2023 Wisconsin judicial race, which might have remained obscure in other years even within Wisconsin, is garnering national media attention and record fundraising numbers for the candidates. The reasons have to do with a prediction — both among pro-life and pro-abortion groups — that the winner of the election could tip the scales in Wisconsin when it comes to the state’s current abortion ban.
Wisconsin is the only state in the nation with a pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban in effect, at least on paper. Wisconsin’s ban, which is contained in Section 940.04 of the Wisconsin Statutes and dates to 1849, allows abortion only to save the life of the mother. The state’s Democratic governor and attorney general have said they will not enforce the ban and are currently suing in an attempt to have it overturned.
The law was previously unenforceable following the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, but Roe’s overturning last year allowed the statute to come into effect. So far, it has not been blocked in court, as has happened with pre-Roe bans in West Virginia and Michigan.
Pro-abortion groups within and outside Wisconsin have identified the state Supreme Court race as the key to getting 940.04 overturned. Gov. Tony Evers, along with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, announced a lawsuit last year to attempt to overturn the law, arguing that it has been superseded by subsequent legislation and cannot be enforced.
The lawsuit is likely to be ultimately decided by the state Supreme Court, which has had a 4-3 conservative majority for the past decade and a half. The current election will determine who will sit in the open seat being vacated by retiring conservative justice Patience Roggensack. The winner will serve a 10-year term.
Pro-life advocates worry that should the state Supreme Court obtain a pro-choice majority, the state’s pre-Roe ban could be declared unconstitutional, as happened last year in neighboring Michigan.
Who are the candidates?
Kelly is a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who served on the court from his appointment by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2016 until he was voted out in 2020. He describes himself as a “constitutional conservative” and on his campaign website charges that his opponents are “judicial activists who seek to impose their own political agenda on our state.”
Amid a contentious campaign, Kelly has earned the endorsement of three statewide pro-life groups — Wisconsin Family Action, Pro-Life Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Right to Life. He said during a recent debate that his numerous endorsements from pro-life groups came about after having conversations with them about his pledge to uphold the Constitution, not because of any promise to keep the abortion ban in place.
In contrast, Protasiewicz has garnered endorsements from numerous top Democrats in Wisconsin as well as from pro-abortion groups such as NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and EMILY’s List. Protasiewicz currently is a judge for Branch 24 of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in Wisconsin, having been elected to that court in 2014.
Protasiewicz has insisted she has made “no promises” to pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood and EMILY’s List but also has made no bones about her pro-choice views. “My personal opinion is that [it] should be the woman’s right to make the reproductive health decisions, period,” she said during a March 21 debate.
What have Catholic leaders said?
At least two of the state’s bishops, including Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, have reiterated to Catholics that the right to life is a foundational issue that should form their consciences as they decide how to vote on Tuesday.
“Without the right to be born and to live, every other right is worthless,” Hying wrote in a March 30 letter.
“Do we want to live in a country that welcomes the wonder of every human life, supports marriages and families, helps the needy and suffering, seeks justice for all, and builds a civilization of love, or, do we want a society which aborts its children, leaves struggling parents without support, and lives a radical autonomy with no reference to the dignity of life and the common good? Do we elect civic leaders who stand on the unshakeable moral principle that every human life is sacred and of immeasurable worth, or, do we elect those who disregard the fundamental dignity of life and advocate for taking the life of the most innocent in the womb? Such questions we should ask ourselves as we exercise our moral and civic duty to vote.”
Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee also issued a letter, dated March 28, urging Catholics to vote for candidates that uphold the right to life.
“The killing of the innocent has never been supported by Catholic Church teachings. As citizens, we have an obligation to support the laws that protect the innocent. We must take our responsibility, as citizens before God’s judgment, for the times we have supported the destruction of the innocent. We must also take responsibility for the lack of support for the protection of the innocent when we vote for candidates and laws that liberalize abortion laws,” Listecki wrote.
“There is nothing enlightened about an individual who fails to realize that the denial of the right to life for the most vulnerable among us is an attack on the dignity and personal value of every citizen. I could not and would not support a candidate whose position on life is contrary to the teachings of the Church — a position contrary to the teachings and love of Jesus.”
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“And that’s certainly not to point a finger at anyone,”
Therein lies the problem. The elephant in the room needs to have many fingers pointed at it, your Excellency.
As if Jesus never pointed a finger at the Pharisees?
A bishop’s function is to teach, rule/govern, and to sanctify. To meet with and dialogue? That sounds weak to me.
I agree with a previous post – some finger pointing is needed.
I hope this election is an indication that the bishops will stand up for life, sexual norms, religious freedom and the entire teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They have been reluctant to call out those who proclaim “devout Catholic” status while promoting abortion on demand throughout all nine months and to shortly after birth. I was hoping the bishops would elect Archbishop Cordileone who has denied Communion to Nancy Pelosi in his archdiocese because of her adamant stance against protecting babies in the womb. All the bishops should be of that attitude in favor of Canon 915.
. . . and Archbishop Broglio should at least ask for a meeting with Joe Biden who will never ask to meet with Broglio.
Military Archbishop Broglio brings a military directness to his new assignment, a good, hopeful sign. Gary Lockhart identifies what many of us believe is the crux of the problem within the Church insofar as policy. Broglio’s ‘not to point the finger’ appears an allusion to Francis. A Roman pontiff, he surprisingly, in a positive sense, refers to as a fellow bishop, indicating a proactive approach absolutely needed by the USCCB if it is to be an effective representative body of Catholicism.
Certainly, the new USCCB president has to tread intelligently [not fearfully] in relation to this. Head to head meetings with Francis as well as Biden are definitely in order. The optics alone sends a needed message with possible good effect.
Archbishop Broglio has a unique opportunity to perform a desperately needed service for the Church and the nation that his predecessors declined to accept. A “willingness to meet with” President Biden does not go far enough by a longshot. His Excellency has a grave responsibility to confront Biden and oppose his evil agenda publicly and forcefully. By doing so, he will inevitably incur the wrath of many of his brother bishops and of Pope Francis himself. Francis will swiftly issue a cease-and-desist order. Archbishop will be obliged to defy such an illegitimate command. In this scandal-plagued era, the spectacle of the most powerful politician in the world being a Catholic and promoting the most reprehensible policies possible while referring to himself as “devout” and receiving the Sacrament anytime he chooses, is one of the most egregious. It must end now.
To Archbishop Gomez, why would Biden meet with you when he can go straight to Francis anytime he wants? He neither respects you nor does he fear anything you are willing to do.
Why don’t you just ask Biden for a meeting? There is a specific pastoral connection here as he is the Commander in Chief of the military, your diocese. Seems a little cowardly just to say, “if he wants to talk, I’m available.”
“…little cowardly…” Well, the president does have a bishop in Delaware (and Washington D.C.) who I’m sure are not cowards and have spoken to the man. The new incoming president is not a coward. That is pretty…
“Well, the president does have a bishop in Delaware (and Washington D.C.) who I’m sure are not cowards”(sic)
When it comes to fidelity to and defense of the faith both Wilton Gregory and the former Bishop of Wilmington Francis Malooly have long documented histories of being cowards. The new Bishop of Wilmington William Koenig hasn’t as yet demonstrated that he is any better than his predecessor.
When I see the word ‘dialogue’ used as a verb, not a noun, I get a tad leery.
Prove me wrong – please.
I note that Abp. Broglia does not shy away from linking homosexuality and clergy sex abuse.
When Abp. Broglio was installed as the Archbishop for Military Services USA in 2008, I was serving in Afghanistan, and when I retired from active duty in 2019, he was still in that position. He was an excellent shepherd of his military flock in every way. My fellow Catholic military and Foreign Service members also hold him in great respect and affection, without exception in my experience. He will have many members of his flock praying for him as he assumes his new role.
In his public and ongoing support in favor of abortion, and his stated desire to provide the means for a national law to make abortion legal throughout the the country, the time for dialogue with Biden ended long ago. The new president should follow along the lines of what Archbishop Cordileone did regarding Pelosi, and since Biden has not been warned so far as is known, Broglio should provide the warning to repent and cease his advocacy of abortion within a matter of no more than a few weeks or the directive will go out to all Bishops throughout the country to refuse giving Biden and similar acting “Catholics” Holy Communion.
Then, any Bishop who ignores the directive should be suspended and replaced if he refuses to do the right thing.
Darn. My alarm just went off. I must have been dreaming, but it was a real nice one while it lasted.