Robert C. Morlino

Bishop Robert C. Morlino (born December 31 1946) is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. The fourth bishop of Madison, he previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, and a priest in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as a Jesuit priest.

Early life

Morlino was born on December 31 1946 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father died when he was young and in high school, and was brought up primarily by his mother and grandmother. After graduating high school, he attended the seminary of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and was ordained a priest in 1974.

Education

In addition to his graduation from the Maryland Jesuit seminary, Morlino completed an undergraduate degree of Philosophy at Fordham University. He also studied at the University of Notre Dame (Master of Philosophy), Weston School of Theology (Master of Divinity), and the Gregorian University (Doctor of Moral Theology).

Recordings of the Bishop

[http://www.isthmuscatholic.org/index.cfm?load=page&page=281&category=8 Click here] to listen to Morlino and many more people from the [http://www.isthmuscatholic.org Cathedral Parish]

Career

As a priest, Morlino taught philosophy at several colleges and universities, including Boston College, the University of Notre Dame, and Loyola College. In 1981, he was incardinated as a priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, where he served as the administrator of several parishes, and also in within the diocesan structure.

On July 6, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him the ninth Bishop of Helena, where he served for almost four years until 2003, when John Paul II again appointed him the fourth Bishop of Madison.

One of the larger challenges for Morlino and the Diocese was the loss of the Cathedral parish when a fire severely damaged St. Raphael's Cathedral in March 2005. Morlino then had to determine whether to rebuild the Cathedral on its current site, or build a new Cathedral elsewhere in Madison. In June 2007 Morlino announced that St. Raphael's would be rebuilt on its current site, reusing the steeple and other items from the previous building.

Recently,when Morlino was criticized for requiring every parish in his diocese to hear his recorded message addressing a wide range of political issues including the protection of traditional marriage, capital punishment, and stem-cell research. In his message, delivered just before the November 2006 elections, Morlino urged Catholics to vote in defense of traditional marriage and to adopt a pro-life stance on the issues of capital punishment and embryonic stem cell research. Morlino has since been accused of "electioneering" by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for his statements to parishioners of his diocese urging them to vote in support of traditional marriage.

Morlino currently serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and as chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA). Morlino has denied any wrongdoing by this military school that for decades has trained military officers from Latin America. The School of the Americas is also known as the school of assassins. Former students from this school have been accused of thousands of political killings, including the assassination of six Jesuit priest in El Salvador. Morlino told the "Wisconsin State Journal" (11/4/2007), "I know for a fact there is no evidence to connect what the school teaches with any kind of atrocity". He is the past chairman of Bishops' Committee on the Diaconate and Ad Hoc Committee on Health Care Issues and the Church, both within the structure of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On July 24, 2008, in an article in "The Catholic Herald", Morlino purported that the Catholic Church's sexual abuse of children by priests was a direct consequence of Catholics having fallen into a "contraceptive mindset." Because Catholics failed to follow the directives of Pope Paul VI's Human Vitae and reject birth control, he charged that there were foreseeable consequences that resulted, from the "redefinition of marriage" to priests who would molest children.

References

* [http://www.madisondiocese.org/bishop/morlinobio.html Biography of Bishop Morlino]
* [http://www.madisondiocese.org/ Website of the Diocese of Madison]
* [http://www.startribune.com/stories/568/5658715.html
]
* [http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/oct/06102007.html Wisconsin Bishop Says Attack on Marriage Teaching an “Intimidation” Attempt]
* [http://www.madisoncatholicherald.org/current/bishop.html Catholic Herald 7/24/08 Bishop Prepares Staff for Anniversary of "Human Vitae"]

External links

* [http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=176556 Critical Mass: Swimming in a sea of relativism, Bishop Morlino holds an eternal rope]
* [http://www.madison.com/tct/news/292544 Lawsuit: Bishop Demanded Names of Complaining Priests]
* [http://www.madison.com/tct/news/292844 Lawsuit against diocese draws strong but mixed reactions from downtown parishoners]
* [http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/305013 Bishop Morlino's political positioning]