Robert C. Morlino

Robert Charles Morlino S.J. (December 31, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin from 2003 until his death.

An only child, Robert Morlino was born on December 31, 1946, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Charles and Albertina Morlino.

He was of part Polish descent.

His father died while he was attending Scranton Preparatory School, and he was primarily raised by his mother and grandmother.

Morlino then entered the novitiate for the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and studied at Fordham University in New York, obtaining a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1969.

Morlino earned a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1970, and a Master of Theology degree from the Weston School of Theology at Boston College.

Morlino was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1974, and then taught at Loyola College in Maryland, St. Joseph's University, Boston College, Notre Dame University, and St. Mary's College.

He also served as an instructor in continuing education for priests, religious, and laity, as well as director of parish renewal programs.

On October 26, 1983, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Morlino there served as Episcopal Vicar for Spiritual Development, Executive Assistant and Theological Consultant to Bishop Alfred Markiewicz, Moderator of the Curia, and Promoter of Justice in the diocesan tribunal.

In 1990, he earned a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and became a theology professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, where he expected to spend his life prior to his promotion to a bishop.

He was also named rector of St. Augustine Cathedral in 1991.

He was the bishop of Diocese of Helena, in Montana, from 1999 to 2003.

Morlino was widely perceived as a conservative bishop.

On July 6, 1999, Morlino was appointed the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Helena by Pope John Paul II.

He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 21 from Archbishop Gabriel Higuera, with Archbishop John Vlazny and Bishop Paul Donovan serving as co-consecrators.

Morlino selected as his episcopal motto: Visus Non Mentietur, meaning, "The vision will not disappoint" (Habakkuk 2:3).

Morlino was named the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Madison on May 23, 2003, by John Paul II.

He was installed on August 1, 2003.

Morlino supported the application of Summorum Pontificum in his diocese, and he celebrated the Tridentine Mass in several parishes.

He ordered that the tabernacle in all the churches of the diocese should be moved to a central place of prominence.

Morlino encouraged the faithful to receive Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling, and he encouraged pastors to enlist exclusively male altar servers.

One of his main objectives was to increase vocations to the priesthood in his diocese, and he helped raise 44 million dollars for the endowment fund "Priests for Our Future".

The number of seminarians studying for the priesthood grew from six to 30 during his episcopate, one of the largest increases in the United States.

Catholics in his diocese had divided opinions of him.

In 2004, Morlino publicly expressed criticism of what he termed as Madison's apparent lack of a moral compass.

He said that the city existed below a religious "moral minimum" and had "virtually no public morality."

He specifically cited the popularity of the city's StageQ community theater company, a gay and lesbian theater troupe, as evidence of this view.

A fire severely damaged St. Raphael's Cathedral in March 2005.

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.

Morlino was the past chairman of the Bishops' Committee on the Diaconate and Ad Hoc Committee on Health Care Issues and the Church, both units of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

During the 2008 presidential election, Morlino criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joe Biden for their remarks regarding abortion on the television program Meet the Press.

He said that "because they claim to be Catholic," Pelosi and Biden were "violating the separation of church and state" and "stepping on the pope's turf and mine."

In May 2009, Morlino announced that the Catholic Multicultural Center – a building that fed, educated and supported many on Madison's south side – would close in two days as part of widespread Diocesan budget cuts.

A handoff to local parish administration and fundraising drive was announced one week later.

In 2017, Morlino arranged for a memo to be sent by his vicar general to all local priests, informing them that they may deny Catholic funerals to people who had entered into same-sex public civil unions or marriages "to avoid public scandal of the faithful."

The memo advised clergy to consider whether the deceased or the living partner was a "promoter of the 'gay' lifestyle."

Morlino had a cardiac event during medical testing on November 21, 2018.

Robert Morlino died in Madison on November 24, 2018, at age 71.

Morlino believed that canon law should be interpreted as requiring communion be denied to politicians who openly support legal abortion and euthanasia.