During his time as leader of the Diocese of Madison, Bishop Robert C. Morlino faced a number of societal issues as well as a severe economic downturn.
Societal issues
In 2006, Wisconsin voters faced referendum questions on the November ballot on defining marriage and the death penalty.
The Catholic bishops of the state wrote pastoral letters on the topics. Bishop Morlino emphasized that it is a moral duty to protect the definition of marriage between a man and a woman. He authorized the distribution of a pamphlet called “Marriage Matters” to parishioners in the diocese.
Bishop Morlino often spoke and wrote about the importance of marriage. For example, at the diocesan Golden Anniversary Celebration in 2007, he thanked couples attending for the “service and witness you have given to the Church as married couples for so many years.”
Bishop Morlino also voiced his opposition to the death penalty, saying that a life sentence will protect people today. “If we kill people, we add to the spiral of violence,” he said.
In November of 2006, Wisconsin voters upheld the definition of marriage as “one man and one woman” by a 59.4 percent margin. However, 55.5 percent of the voters told the legislators that they would like to reinstate the death penalty. Capital punishment was abolished in the state in 1853 and has yet to be restored.
Dealing with recession
The United States faced an economic recession from December 2007 to June 2009. It was the largest contraction of the economy since the Great Depression of 1929 to 1938.
In 2008, people in many parts of the diocese were affected by flooding. Bishop Morlino authorized a special collection and over $157,000 was raised. The diocesan Rural Life Office worked with Catholic Charities to open flood resource centers in various communities with Knights of Columbus and parishioners volunteering.
Due to a downturn in investment income and a new Annual Catholic Appeal which had not reached its goal, the Diocese of Madison announced on May 27, 2009, that it was cutting 19 full-time and four part-time diocesan employees and closing the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) in Madison.
However, on June 5, 2009, the diocese announced that Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison offered to assume primary responsibility for the operation of the CMC.
The offer, made through the pastor, Msgr. Kenneth Fiedler, with the support and collaboration of neighboring pastors and parishes, was “weighed and gratefully accepted” by Bishop Morlino.
The CMC reopened on August 3.
Cathedral future
After more than two years of listening, consulting, and praying about the cathedral future after the devastating fire in March of 2005, Bishop Morlino announced on June 10, 2007, that he would like to have the cathedral rebuilt on the site downtown.
However, a final design had yet to be determined. It was reported that the diocese had an insurance settlement of $6.125 million to use.
A salvage operation and demolition of the remaining ruins of the cathedral were completed in 2008.
The Diocese of Madison undertook an in-depth feasibility study to assist the bishop in making judgments about upcoming diocesan projects, including the cathedral.
On September 14, 2012, Bishop Morlino blessed a Way of the Cross which was erected on the site of the cathedral as a place of prayer. The delay in building a new cathedral “has a lot to do with the economy,” said Bishop Morlino at that time.
There was also the need to fund other diocesan priorities, which will be discussed in future articles.
Other news
In January of 2006, the diocesan Office of Religious Education was changed to the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis with Bishop Morlino as director.
As of July 1, 2006, Michael Lancaster became the Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the diocese, a position he still holds. Also in July, Grant Emmel was named vice-chancellor of the diocese to work with Chancellor Kevin Phelan. It was announced that Brent King would be the new communications director and assistant to the bishop as of September 5.
In September of 2006, after the appointment of Bishop Paul J. Swain as Bishop of Sioux Falls, S.D., Bishop Morlino appointed Fr. Donald F. Heiar, Jr., as vicar general and Fr. Kevin D. Holmes as rector of the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael in Madison, with the downtown parishes having merged in July. On March 15, 2007, these two priests as well as Fr. James R. Bartylla received papal honors with the title of Monsignor.
In December of 2006, a new annual collection for retired priests called Bless Our Priests was begun. Also in December, two priests from the Society for Jesus Christ the Priest came to the diocese.
In June of 2007, Bishop Morlino was given the Guided by the Spirit final recommendations from the Diocesan Planning Commission. Implementation of the Trusting in the Spirit plan was begun in October at a Parish Leadership Conference. The plan dealt with diocesan, parish, and school planning.
In July of 2007, a new program, “Valuing God’s Gifts in Ourselves and Others,” was begun to help maintain a safe environment for children in all Catholic schools and religious education programs in the diocese.
Source: Archives of the Catholic Herald newspaper.
Mary C. Uhler served on the staff of the Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison for almost 47 years, the last 34 years as editor. She retired in July of 2020.