WISCONSIN
Wisconsin State Journal
[Away from diocesan work, Robert Morlino is an easygoing guy who keeps it light]
DOUG ERICKSON | Wisconsin State Journal | derickson@madison.com | 608-252-6149
Center of controversy
Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has found himself at the center of numerous controversies and dust-ups in the past decade. A sampling:
ISSUE: Six months into his tenure, Morlino wrote in the Catholic Herald newspaper that Madison appears to be a community that has “a high comfort level with virtually no public morality.” The episode outraged many residents and kicked off a continuing parlor game of parsing his every utterance.
OUTCOME: Morlino said he meant no offense and was merely pointing out that there are few common starting points for discussions about moral reasoning in such a diverse city.
ISSUE: In 2005, Morlino joined a federal advisory board for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, a training facility for Latin American military leaders formerly known as the notorious School of the Americas. Critics held a 25-hour session of prayer and fasting at the Bishop O’Connor Center.
OUTCOME: Morlino defended the board as a group of outsiders whose role is to advise Congress on correcting any problems at the facility. His service on the board ended in 2009.
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