Arecent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision puts the state on a collision course with the First Amendment, with troubling consequences for ministries — even churches — engaged in charitable work there.
Earlier this month, Wisconsin’s top court ruled that Catholic Charities entities — charitable arms of the Diocese of Superior — aren’t sufficiently “religious” to be exempt from a state insurance program. Across the nation and the world, Catholic Charities organizations serve the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized through an array of social services such as housing, food assistance, health care, job training, childcare, and immigration and refugee services. They do so based on the principles of Catholic teaching, ultimately rooted in Christ’s command to care for “the least of these.” In northern Wisconsin, Catholic Charities ministers to thousands of individuals and families in need, providing critical assistance that, otherwise, the state would have to provide — or that wouldn’t be provided at all.
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