Lawsuit against diocese draws strong but mixed reactions from downtown parishioners

Samara Kalk Derby  —  6/23/2008 8:07 am

Opinions were mixed, but many local Catholics attending St. Patrick Church in downtown Madison Sunday morning said a recent lawsuit filed against the Madison Catholic Diocese reflects badly on Madison's already controversial bishop and puts the rebuilding of the St. Raphael Cathedral in jeopardy.

"I think he was way out of bounds," said one woman, a 49-year parishioner at St. Raphael, the downtown Madison cathedral destroyed by arson in 2005. As far as the fundraising for a new cathedral in the same spot, the woman said, "I think it went down the tubes long before this happened."

Bishop Robert Morlino has said he wants to rebuild the cathedral, but some Catholics have questioned whether it makes sense to spend tens of millions on a new cathedral rather than the needy. Morlino announced in April that because of the weak economy, now is not a good time to start a major fundraising campaign.

St. Patrick's is one of two downtown churches that St. Raphael's parishioners began attending after the fire. Many of those who spoke with The Capital Times Sunday said they had not heard about the lawsuit detailed in local media Friday. Of those who did speak on the subject, most would not give their names.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month by Phoenix Fundraising Counsel of Madison, which was hired by the diocese to evaluate support for rebuilding the cathedral. The lawsuit says Morlino insisted the company turn over confidential information gathered from surveys and interviews, in particular the names of priests who criticized Morlino.

The company says it refused to disclose the confidential information and now can't get the diocese to pay at least $350,000 for the work it did, including a feasibility study and a planned capital campaign.

"If it is true that they had a contract and it was fulfilled and they didn't get paid, they should be paid," said parishioner John Schauf. "Was the contract fulfilled? I don't know. (The diocese) doesn't come off in a very good light if that is the case."

It was inappropriate for the bishop to demand confidential information, including the names of priests who complained about him, Schauf said, because it is a tenet of confidential surveys to allow people to say what they think anonymously.

Schauf said he was surprised and saddened to learn of the controversy.

As for rebuilding the cathedral, he said: "We'll have to wait and see how that goes."

Monsignor Kevin Holmes said during his sermon Sunday that once all the facts come to light, the public may have a different feeling about what transpired, Schauf said.

Holmes declined to speak with The Capital Times about the matter, citing the lawsuit. Diocesan officials also would not comment about the allegations when asked on Friday.

A number of people interviewed Sunday defended Morlino and said they were giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"He's not a bad man and the article was pretty one-sided," said one female parishioner. "I'm in a wait-and-see mode." The woman did say that the lawsuit will set back the capital campaign to rebuild the cathedral.

"It's the Catholics' business. It's no one else's business. It should be private. It should be up to the Catholics to discuss this amongst themselves," Tom Belson, 64, said. "If this were another city it would not be on the front page. The majority of Madison and Dane County citizens are anti-Catholic and anti-religion. They are a bunch of wacko liberals."

Belson said he was angry when he read the story in the Wisconsin State Journal and called it a "liberal rag just like The Capital Times."

As head of the diocese, Morlino deserves to know which priests are opposed to the rebuilding, then he would be able to sit down and talk to them about it, Belson said.

Catholics will see through the alleged controversy and the lawsuit will not harm the rebuilding of St. Raphael's, he predicted.

Samara Kalk Derby  —  6/23/2008 8:07 am