The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a letter on February 23, 2011, praising the Wisconsin bishops for their earlier pastoral letter supporting the rights of Wisconsin public union workers to collective bargaining. The letter, written by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in part:
"You and our brother bishops in Wisconsin are offering a timely reminder of what the Church teaches on the rights and duties of workers, including the right to form and belong to unions and other associations, and the obligation to address difficult problems with respect for the rights and needs of all. As you insist, “hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers.” . . . .
"Catholic teaching and your statement remind us these are not just political conflicts or economic choices; they are moral choices with enormous human dimensions. The debates over worker representation and collective bargaining are not simply matters of ideology or power, but involve principles of justice, participation and how workers can have a voice in the workplace and economy." . . . .
"As you point out, “It does not follow from this that every claim made by workers or their representatives is valid. Every union, like every other economic actor, is called to work for the common good, to make sacrifices when required, and to adjust to new economic realities. However, it is equally a mistake to marginalize or dismiss unions as impediments to economic growth. As Pope John Paul II wrote in 1981, ‘[a] union remains a constructive factor of social order and solidarity, and it is impossible to ignore it.’” (Laborem Exercens #20)"
"We pray that the leaders and people of Wisconsin--and across our nation--will respond to your “appeal to everyone--lawmakers, citizens, workers, and labor unions--to move beyond divisive words and actions and work together, so that Wisconsin can recover in a humane way from the current fiscal crisis.”
"I write to assure you that your brother bishops stand with you as you share Catholic teaching on workers and unions and call for dialogue, mutual respect and the search for the common good as a way forward in these difficult days."
Among the Wisconsin lawmakers to whom the Bishops are directly appealing are a number of Catholic lawmakers, including Scott and Jeff Fitzgerald, the Republican leaders of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly.
In a recent interview with the Isthmus, Scott Fitzgerald described his family: "It was a typical Irish family," Scott remembers. "A very conservative family. Very Catholic. Very pro-life. Jeff and I served on the altar together."
It has not been well taken by the U.S. Catholic hierarchy when Catholic Democratic leaders take public stands counter to church teaching as to abortion or gay marriage, even though those positions are clearly supported by the civil law of the United States. Many Catholic bishops have supported denying the sacrament of Communion to such politicians. Now we have Catholic Republican leaders in Wisconsin disregarding Church teaching on workers' rights, not backed by the civil law as the Democratic pro-abortion/pro gay rights politicians are, but only by a political agenda. How do you imagine the Fitzgerald brothers reacted when John Kerry was denied communion while campaigning in 2004 in the Diocese of St. Louis by Archbishop Burke? I would hazard a guess that they probably felt Senator Kerry was being a cafeteria Catholic, picking and choosing among the church's tenets that it served his political purpose to follow. Are they not now doing the same thing ?
amen.
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