Robert C. Morlino

Robert Charles Morlino (December 31, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Madison in Wisconsin from 2003 until his death. He previously served as bishop of Helena in Montana from 1999 to 2003.

Early life and education An only child, Robert Morlino was born on December 31, 1946, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Charles and Albertina Morlino. He was of part Polish descent. His father died while he was attending Scranton Preparatory School, and he was primarily raised by his mother and grandmother. Deciding to become a priest, Morlino entered the novitiate for the Maryland Province of the Jesuits. He then studied at Fordham University in New York City, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1969.

Morlino earned a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1970, and a Master of Theology degree from the Weston School of Theology at Boston College Massachusetts.

Ordination and ministry Morlino was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Lawrence Joseph Shehan for the Jesuits at the Loyal University Maryland Chapel in Baltimore on June 1, 1974. After his ordination, the Jesuits assigned him to teach at Loyola College. He also had teaching assignments at St. Joseph's University, Boston College, the University of Notre Dame, and St. Mary's College. Morlino also served as an instructor in continuing education for priests, religious, and laity, as well as director of parish renewal programs.

On October 26, 1983, Morlino was incardinated, or transferred, from the Jesuits into the Diocese of Kalamazoo. Morlino there served as episcopal vicar for Spiritual Development, executive assistant and theological consultant to Bishop Alfred Markiewicz, Moderator of the Curia, and promoter of justice in the diocesan tribunal.

In 1990, Morlino earned a Doctor of Moral Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. After returning to Michigan, he was appointed as a theology professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, where he expected to spend his life prior to his promotion to a bishop. He was also named rector of St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo in 1991.

Bishop of Helena On July 6, 1999, Morlino was appointed the ninth bishop of Helena by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of Saint Helena in Helena, Montana, on September 21, 1999 from Archbishop Gabriel Higuera, with Archbishop John Vlazny and Bishop Paul Donovan serving as co-consecrators. Catholics in his diocese had divided opinions of his actions.

A fire severely damaged St. Raphael's Cathedral in Madison in 2005. In 2007, Morlino announced that the diocese would rebuild the cathedral on its previous site, reusing the steeple and other items from the old building. A handoff to local parish administration and fundraising drive was announced one week later.

Death Morlino had a cardiac event during medical testing on November 21, 2018. Robert Morlino died in Madison on November 24, 2018, at age 71.

Views Morlino was widely perceived as a conservative bishop. Abortion Morlino believed that canon law should be interpreted as requiring priests to deny the eucharist to politicians who supported abortion rights for women and euthanasia. During the 2008 US presidential election, Morlino criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joe Biden for their remarks regarding abortion on the television program Meet the Press. He said that "because they claim to be Catholic," Pelosi and Biden were "violating the separation of church and state" and "stepping on the pope's turf and mine."

LGBTQ issues In 2004, Morlino publicly criticized what he termed as Madison's apparent lack of a moral compass. He said that the city existed below a religious "moral minimum" and had "virtually no public morality."

In 2017, Morlino arranged for his vicar general to send a memo to all the diocesan priests about LGBTQ Catholics. It stated that priests may deny Catholic funeral masses to individuals who had entered into same-sex civil unions or marriages "to avoid public scandal of the faithful." The memo advised clergy to consider whether the deceased or the living partner was a "promoter of the 'gay' lifestyle." To minimize scandal, the deceased's partner should have no public role in any funeral rite or service. Outraged by this memo, thousands of people signed a petition to the Vatican seeking Morlino's removal as bishop.

In 2018 Morlino wrote an open letter regarding the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. He condemned the abuse of minors and described a "homosexual subculture" that allegedly facilitated homosexual sexual activities between priests and other adults. He criticized the alleged acceptance of behaviors the Catholic Church considered sinful by members of the Church hierarchy, writing, "We must be done with sin. It must be rooted out and again considered unacceptable. Love sinners? Yes. Accept true repentance? Yes. But do not say sin is okay." Morlino urged victims to report accusations to the police, and called for reparations to the victims as well as prayer and fasting by Catholics to atone for the offenses.

Rights of workers In 2020, when the Wisconsin Legislature was considering a budget proposal that would curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees (later enacted), Morlino distanced himself from the positions of other Wisconsin bishops, writing "The question to which the dilemma boils down is rather simple on its face: is the sacrifice which union members, including school teachers, are called upon to make, proportionate to the relative sacrifice called for from all in difficult economic times? In other words, is the sacrifice fair in the overall context of our present situation?" Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki had issued a statement calling for Wisconsin legislators to abide by a "moral obligation" to fully consider the "legitimate rights" of public employees.