Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Preside at Mass of Christian Burial for Jack McBride, St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Madison 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Barnabas Parish, Mazomanie Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Stational Mass, St. Patrick Church, Madison Bishop George O. Wirz Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007 2:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. John the Baptist Parish, Montello, with Good Shepherd Parish, Westfield, at St. John the Baptist Parish, Montello Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

Constitution protests:
Agreeing on principles

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

(en Español)

Dear friends,

When I am on vacation, as I presently am (it is in fact January 27) I never forget about our wonderful diocese and beloved people, especially in prayer.

But I try to stay connected with the various happenings in our diocese, and not surprisingly the issue of the Madison City Council vote to attach a statement to their renewal of their oath of office, with regard to their protest against the constitutional definition of marriage recently voted in, came to my attention. Please believe me when I say that I hoped to take at least some vacation from discussing this particular issue, but I find myself forced to return to the discussion by events in Madison. But to be sure the matter is a pivotal one.

Taking an oath to defend constitution

I have to say that the activity of protesting some particular content of the constitution, while taking an oath to defend it, in general for me, is a hopeful one.

When people take an oath to defend the constitution and attach a statement protesting certain of its contents, they are saying that the contents of the constitution themselves must answer to higher values and to a higher order. The constitution is judged then to be imperfect and less than a full reflection of the truth. When people in the public forum see this, I consider it progress.

Statement of protests

In the course of the discussion in Madison, it was observed that if someone could attach a statement of protest to the constitutional definition of marriage, then one could just as well attach a statement of protest to the right to privacy as inclusive of killing the innocent and defenseless unborn through abortion. The rational consistency of that observation is striking.

I am always very happy to make progress gradually, and I don't think I have all the answers. But the sacred dignity of every human person is a conclusion of human reason, which the convictions of our Catholic faith confirm. In the first place, human reason tells us that every human being is sacred from conception until natural death.

Taking a major step forward

Thus, when elected officials in Madison publicly affirm that the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Wisconsin are not perfect documents and that they stand in need of correction according to higher principles, to be honest I am thrilled. I consider that a major step forward, and it is not surprising to me that we do not agree on what those higher values and principles are, but I thank God for every step forward.

In the end, the natural law, the law of human reason, is the norm to which all civil legislation should be accountable. In order to discover the conclusions of the natural law we must operate out of the conviction that reason leads us to objective truth, truth that is true for everyone. Once again we are challenged by this act of protest in swearing an oath to defend the constitution, to be aware of the dangers of the dictatorship of relativism and to affirm reason's power to discover truth which is true for everyone.

It would be wonderful if dialogue, always giving each other the benefit of the doubt, would lead us to the point where we would agree upon the higher norms according to which the contents of our constitutions are to be judged. Let us beg the Lord to give us generous grace, which would lead us in that direction.

Thank you for reading this and God bless each one of you. Praised be Jesus Christ.