Catholic Charities to Supreme Court: Serving the needy is religious Justices will decide later this year whether Wisconsin can punish Catholic Charities for how it ministers to those in need
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Ryan Colby 202-349-7219 [email protected]
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WASHINGTON – Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior yesterday asked the Supreme Court to confirm the obvious: that its care for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled furthers its religious mission. In Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, the Supreme Court will review a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that treated Catholic Charities’ ministry to the poor and needy as “primarily secular.” This decision meant that Catholic Charities could not join the Wisconsin Catholic Church’s own unemployment compensation program but was stuck paying into the state’s less efficient and more costly plan that is not as good for workers. Represented by Becket, Catholic Charities has now filed a brief with the Court explaining that Wisconsin’s actions violate the First Amendment by second-guessing the Catholic Church’s religious teachings on charity.
Most Catholic dioceses have a social ministry arm that serves those in need. Catholic Charities carries out this important work for the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, by helping the disabled, elderly, and those living in poverty—regardless of their faith. This belief that ministry to those in need should not be limited to Catholics flows directly from Catholic social teaching and advances the Church’s religious mission through the corporal works of mercy.
“Catholic Charities Bureau answers Christ’s call to minister to the most vulnerable by caring for the poor, disabled, and elderly throughout the diocese and beyond,” said Bishop James Powers, Bishop of the Diocese of Superior. “We pray the Court recognizes that this vital work of improving the human condition lies at the heart of our duty as Catholics.”
Under Wisconsin law, non-profits that are operated primarily for a religious purpose are generally exempt from the state’s unemployment compensation program. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, however, ruled that Catholic Charities was not exempt because it serves everyone, not just Catholics. The court said that Catholic Charities could qualify for an exemption if it limited its hiring to Catholics and tried to convert those it served to Catholicism—even though the Catholic Church teaches that care for the poor cannot be conditioned on acceptance of the Church’s teachings. The Justices will soon decide if Catholic Charities, like numerous other religious ministries in Wisconsin, can receive a religious exemption from this state law. The case will be argued in April and decided by the end of June.
“Wisconsin has taken the absurd position that helping the needy isn’t all that Catholic,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “Not only is that remarkable claim wrong about religion, it is also bad for those who need help. The Supreme Court should protect Catholic Charities from Wisconsin’s government overreach.”
Catholic Charities Bureau is also represented by Kyle H. Torvinen of Torvinen, Jones & Saunders, S.C., in Superior, Wisconsin.
For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, contact Ryan Colby at [email protected] or 202-349-7219.