WASHINGTON – “The Wisconsin Supreme Court badly erred when it concluded that Catholic Charities is essentially secular because it does not engage in activities such as proselytism. I am grateful for the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, following the Court’s unanimous decision in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission.
He offered the following statement:
“Catholic Charities carries out ministries of the Catholic Church, the body of Christ, in the world today. Through Catholic Charities, the Church feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. The Church engages in these activities in obedience to Jesus, informed by millennia of tradition from the Apostles.
“The Catholic Charities agency of the Diocese of Superior applied for a religious exemption from the state’s unemployment tax program so that it could participate instead in a church-run program that offers the same level of benefits. Catholic Charities was denied the exemption, because according to the state, it is not religious. This was a ludicrous claim, and the Court has rightly reversed. The Court has unanimously affirmed that the government cannot discriminate against our ministries simply because they do not conform to the government’s narrow idea of religion. I am grateful the Court has recognized that basic principle here.”
The USCCB filed an amicus brief in support of Catholic Charities, which can be found at https://www.usccb.org/resources/25-0203_CCB_v_WILaborIndustry.pdf
Bishop Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty.
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