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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Clearly, this guidance is a demonstration of executive overreach! After all, we have the female U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson who cannot define what a woman is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWtGzJxiONU
Before we know it, some judge is going to contest whether the world is round or flat. And we know even by empirical animal behavior, that if the world were flat a cat would push stuff over the edge! Or, in Robert Bolt’s “A Man for all Seasons, this from the mind of the later beheaded St. Thomas More:
“Some men think the Earth is round, others think it flat; it is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King’s [the U.S. Supreme Court’s!] command make it round? And if it is round, will the King’s command flatten it? No, I will not sign.”
As per Christian teaching. And RFK was nominated by DT. And DT signs Executive Order to eradicate anti-Christian bias!:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/
Two genders? Yes, RFK Jr would know. He is a Kennedy after all.
What does that even mean? And do you disagree that there are only two sexes?
I believe his observation pertained to establishing clarity towards philandering. But I don’t imagine Brown University admissions will have an easy time whittling down their list of 47 genders.
He’s speaking to their reputations, I believe.
There are only two sexes and the whole trans sexual thing is nonsense. My comment on RFK Jr was amusement about him being our tutor on matters sexual. Obviously, you didn’t get it.
You rhetorical hand-grenade just went off in your lap.
Ted Kennedy would agree.
Trump did well nominating RFK, Jr.
WOW! Brain worms? Muffled, stumbled and inaudible speech?
Politifact: ‘I never said it’: RFK Jr. downplays past statements during Senate confirmation hearing. Kennedy compared the CDC’s vaccine program with Nazi death camps. Kennedy said “tremendous circumstantial evidence” linked school shootings to antidepressants.” Trump said he was going to “turn him loose” in his new role.
Kennedy said “tremendous circumstantial evidence” linked school shootings to antidepressants”.
Trump’s plan, (for us), by appointing in-your-face unqualified creatures is dauntingly unAmerican, and a threat to our democracy.
Amazingly, Trump said this week that “Ukraine started the war’ and that Zaleneskyy was a “dictator who was never elected”. That statement shook our allies and threatened to break our NATO alliances. His admiration of Putin, a mass murderer having been labeled by International Criminal Court a “war criminal. And Trump said Putin was a “brilliant man”. He proved that his “pardon” of hundreds of Capitol insurrectionists, that he was indeed responsible for the Capitol riot causing many Capitol officers to be seriously injured and some even die.
No question Trump, with his executive orders causing notiioanal uprisings and his disdain for the rule of law. It has has caused a Constitutional crisis that places our national security at risk.
I realize that I got off the subject, but the connection of RFK Jr. and Trump cannot be ignored.
At one of the most dangerous times in US and the world, We must pray to Jesus to ask for his intervention. Seems like all sanity is history.
TDS – acute and chronic type.
Mr Morgan from what I’ve read RFK Jr. has a condition that causes his voice to sound that way. That’s surely not his fault.
Many people in developing countries suffer the effects of parasites. That’s not their fault either. I knew a family whose son had roundworm cysts in his brain . He was perfectly ok after treatment.
Why would you bring those physical ailments up when they really signify nothing?
mrsc, Like many of Trump’s appointees, RFK Jr. is seriously unqualified. His willful disregard for the scientific process, in particular his false assessments that certain vaccines are not needed, even Polio.
Factcheck: Kennedy insists he’s not “anti-vaccine,” but many of his debunked arguments are straight from the anti-vaccine playbook, which he and his nonprofit have helped write. Kennedy also promotes conspiracy theories. He believes the CIA was behind the killing of his uncle, and likely his father.
Trump said he would “turn him loose on day one.” Just like DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth, who continues to make policy errors that frighten our allies, an experienced doctor and a General with management experience, should run those departments.
Thanks.
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scicheck-factchecking-robert-f-kennedy-jr/
Two sexes.
I’m done with gender.
Gender really used to mean the same thing in conversations. It just got hijacked recently. I’m ok with saying gender. I think Christians should take back the rainbow, too.
🙂🌈
How wonderful to see the absence of ‘gender’ in these government publications. Gender is for nouns, sex is for people.
There is a world of difference between “a government official said it because it is true” and “it is true because a government official said it.” Sadly, this administration seems to be leaning toward the latter.
You have it completely backwards. Do you think anyone in the opposition to this administration can even define natural law?
Do you SERIOUSLY think “the father of IVF” could, either? The faults of woke liberals can and often are shared by anti-woke liberals (to borrow a phrase from Thomas Mirus) like Trump and Musk.
Vive La Difference! As poet writer Anatole France penned. If the world was inhabited by men alone how horrible would that be? Likewise if everyone was woman. God in his unsurpassable genius knew what’s best.
We wouldn’t have had Maurice Chevalier singing songs in praise of women. Nor would we have had future Pope John XXIII Angelo Roncalli designated papal nuncio to France 1944, who intervened to save Chevalier from execution for collaboration with Nazi occupiers entertaining German troops.
Our Woked world wants absolute equality by adopting the impossible fragmenting of the natural order. Divide and unite by creating a third gender? Or divide and impose a disordered societal diagram united by force of law as it was under Biden. Man since the Fall from grace in wanting to be God is disrupting the order of nature and natural beauty creating instead monstrosity.
Clarification was badly needed. The issue isn’t who stated it, corner-of-the-mouth and smirking responses aside. The unbelievably sad thing is that it’s needed at all.
As a mother of elementary school children I couldn’t be happier about this. Thank you RFK Jr and all newly elected officials who are working hard to restore truth and protect our children.
When the scandal and nonsense of the second Trump administration—and there will be much—really starts to show forth, just hearken back to this executive order and the others like it, and it will all seem worth it.
And as for your first administration, Mr. Trump, I thank you for overturning Roe v. Wade. It took you to get it done, really, and I think a frank public acknowledgment and gratitude from the bishops of the USA and the bishop of Rome is in order.
“Scandal and nonsense”??? Trump can only lead, he cannot be responsible for the PERSONAL actions of individuals. Not anymore than the church should be blamed for what certain priests did during the sex scandals. The issue is its hard for people to know what Trump is ACTUALLY doing, because the media lies and exaggerates about him so often. Then too, followers on the left are too ready to believe the lies. I have seen a few videos of conservative journalists trying to uncover how leftist voters feel about the frauds being uncovered by DOGE. Far too many people hysterically replied that they “didnt believe it”. The left has done immeasurable damage to the country in the last four years, but prior administrations have laid the groundwork. They have taught their voters that not only do they NOT agree with Republicans on the issues. But the republicans have somehow morphed into enemy nazis. It is beyond disgusting. The next tragedy perpetrated by one of their propagandized minions will be on their head.