Get your copy of our weekly print products at any of these convenient locations.
Diocese denies fundraising firm's accusations against bishop
Madison Bishop Robert Morlino did not try to pry the names of complaining priests from a consultant hired to weigh the chances of a $70 million capital campaign to rebuild St. Raphael Cathedral, the diocese says in a response to a lawsuit against it. And it neither hired the consultant nor promised payment for the tasks he claims he received no compensation.
In a 12-page legal document filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court, the diocese admits that an official requested in March that Phoenix Fundraising Counsel of Madison return several thousand surveys that were circulated among parishioners and priests in southwestern Wisconsin in 2007. But it was not to identify priests critical of the bishop or his plans to rebuild the cathedral, as Phoenix president and CEO John Richert contends in his lawsuit.
"The Diocese specifically denies that Bishop Morlino was interested in the names of specific priests who had expressed concern or registered complaints about Bishop Morlino during the survey process, or that Bishop Morlino was agitated because he did not receive this information," the church says in its response. What's more, the bishop had no intention of violating his express assurance of confidentiality to those participating in the survey included in a November 2007 letter to parishioners, court documents say. The diocese's response does not say why return of the survey documents was requested.
The diocese acknowledges it hired Phoenix in August, 2007 to conduct a "feasibility study" to gauge people's willingness to contribute to a multimillion-dollar campaign to rebuild the cathedral, severely damaged in a 2005 arson fire, and improve other diocesan properties.
What is at issue in the lawsuit is whether the diocese ever extended Phoenix's duties to the capital campaign, now postponed, and why the consulting firm has been told it won't be hired when the campaign is conducted.
Richert said in his lawsuit that diocesan officials authorized him to begin work on the capital campaign, and promised payment or a signed contract on several occasions when he met with them to discuss the status of the campaign. He said Morlino clearly was agitated when he refused to turn over the names of priests who complained in the survey about the bishop or the capital campaign and that his refusal to violate professional ethics cost his company the capital campaign contract.
The diocese said in its filing that Phoenix disregarded the diocese's instructions, did unacceptable work, offered an unfair contract, and was never authorized to work on the capital campaign.
Phoenix included an option in the survey -- the bishop abandoning his public stance that the cathedral be rebuilt and the downtown parishes of St. Patrick, St. Raphael and St. Paul being combined at Holy Redeemer Church on West Johnson Street -- despite being told by church officials repeatedly not to include it.
The contested option carried the potential to raise the most money of any scenario in the survey -- $100 million -- according to the diocese's court filing.
Although they say that the "feasibility study" was complete by the end of 2007, diocesan officials acknowledge they met with Richert several times in March, but say he was given no indications that his proposed $6.5 million contract for the capital campaign would be accepted. Besides, the several employees whom Richert said signaled acceptance of the contract or approval of payment had no authority to make those assurances, the diocese said. Richert later sought $350,000 for services rendered on the capital campaign.
Phoenix's proposal for the capital campaign was never accepted, "since the parties never reached a meeting of the minds on crucial provisions of any contract," the diocese said in its court filing. "Therefore the diocese never undertook any obligation to make payments to Phoenix for campaign fundraising services."
Morlino had been advised to not to sign the contract as presented by Phoenix because it was unfairly weighted in favor of Phoenix, in terms of price and tasks the diocese itself would be obliged to perform as part of the campaign, court documents say.
Richert was told on March 26 that Phoenix would not be hired to conduct the capital campaign when it eventually is launched because inclusion of the forbidden option on the survey indicated that "they were responding to interests other then the diocese which had retained them."
What's more, the diocese was dissatisfied with the work Phoenix did on the feasibility study, although it did pay $120,000 for it and agreed to negotiate further charges for the study, according to court filings.
File photo
The Madison Catholic Diocese denied claims made in a lawsuit that Bishop Morlino wanted names of complaining priests.
