Madison.com,
June 19, 2008
Lawsuit:
Bishop Morlino demanded confidential information
By
DOUG ERICKSON
A
fundraising firm hired by the Madison Catholic Diocese to gauge support for rebuilding
St. Raphael Cathedral says Bishop Robert Morlino insisted the firm turn over confidential
information gathered from surveys and interviews, including the names of priests
who complained about Morlino.
The
firm, Phoenix Fundraising Counsel of Madison, says it refused to disclose the
confidential data on priests and parishioners and now can't get the diocese to
pay its bill.
It
has sued the diocese in Dane County Circuit Court for payment of at least $350,000,
which includes work on a feasibility study and a planned capital campaign.
The
episode is the latest controversy for Morlino, a blunt-spoken bishop who has sometimes
been accused of heavy-handedness during his five-year tenure, particularly in
his relations with priests.
The
lawsuit comes at a critical point for the diocese as it tries to rally support
for replacing St. Raphael, the Downtown Madison cathedral destroyed by an arsonist
in 2005. A planned capital campaign to rebuild the cathedral and pay for other
projects, such as a priest retirement fund, was put on hold by Morlino in April.
The
diocese has never revealed a goal for the campaign, but the lawsuit says Morlino
favors a $70 million campaign.
Morlino
declined an interview request Thursday. Diocese spokesman Brent King said the
diocese does not comment on pending litigation and no one, including the diocese's
attorney, would address the issue further. King described the lawsuit as a disagreement
over "fair compensation for services rendered."
According
to the lawsuit, Phoenix Fundraising surveyed 6,000 parishioners and interviewed
83 diocesan priests. In a letter last November that is part of the lawsuit, Morlino
told parishioners "all responses will be considered confidential."
Priests
also were granted confidentiality, according to the lawsuit. This was especially
critical so they "felt free to comment without fear of repercussion,"
the lawsuit says. Many of these priests "expressed concerns that were later
summarized, without identifying information, in a report" to Morlino.
John
Richert, president of Phoenix Fundraising, contends in the lawsuit that when he
met with Morlino March 7, the bishop wanted the firm to turn over all 6,000 surveys
as well as information from the priest interviews.
"Bishop
Morlino insisted on the disclosure of the confidential data, including the names
of specific priests who had expressed concerns or registered complaints about
Bishop Morlino during the survey process," the lawsuit says. "Bishop
Morlino was visibly agitated when Richert refused to turn over this confidential
information."
Company
let go
At
a meeting 19 days later, Morlino informed Richert that the diocese would no longer
need the firm's services, the lawsuit says. Monsignor Donald Heiar also was at
the meeting.
"Monsignor
Heiar and Dr. Richert agreed after that meeting that Bishop Morlino did not want
Phoenix Fundraising to continue on the capital campaign because he was upset that
Mr. Richert refused to turn over the confidential responses from the priests for
his review," the lawsuit says.
Heiar
could not be reached for comment. Richert did not return messages. Attorney Timothy
Edwards, who represents Phoenix, was out of town and unavailable.
Charles
Franklin, a professor of political science at UW-Madison who studies polling methodology
and conducts surveys, said confidentiality is a bedrock assumption of any survey
research organization.
"We
promise the respondents they will never be identified individually and that the
results will only be presented in aggregate statistical form," he said. "The
ethical implication of confidentiality is that responses are never disclosed to
an outside party in a way that could link answers back to an individual."
Nancy
Mathiowetz, immediate past president of the American Association for Public Opinion
Research, said it would be unusual for a survey firm to share names and other
identifying information with its client.
"Under
most situations, the data collector knows the identity of the respondents and
never does it go beyond that," said Mathiowetz, a sociology professor at
UW-Milwaukee. "It's rare that a client asks for that kind of information
back."
Mathiowetz
said the national organization is "absolutely adamant on the importance of
confidentiality."
'It's
just embarrassing'
One
diocesan priest interviewed Thursday by the State Journal said he was relieved
the company honored the confidentiality pledge. The priest said he participated
in the Phoenix survey.
"I
really respect the company for that," said the priest, who was granted anonymity
by the State Journal because he said he feared negative fallout from Morlino.
"This just seems unjust on so many levels. Beyond that, it's just embarrassing."
He
said morale is low among priests and some parishioners are stunned by the lawsuit.
"I
think they're amazed that Morlino would risk this kind of bad publicity,"
he said.
Morlino
has not shied from controversy in the past, often saying it comes with being outspoken.
In 2006, he ordered all priests to play a recorded message from him during Mass
that addressed hot-button social issues on the general election ballot. He told
priests in a letter that he would reprimand them if they expressed any disagreement
with his views.
For
some Catholics who have been critical of Morlino, the allegations in the lawsuit
are not a surprise.
"It
sounds like it's right out of his playbook," said Craig Wehrle, a member
of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Madison who disapproves of Morlino's service
on a federal advisory board for a controversial U.S. military school, once known
as the School of the Americas.
Wehrle
said that at one meeting between Morlino and critics of the school, Morlino promised
to make a videotape of the meeting available, then changed his mind when the meeting
didn't go well. "This seems to follow the pattern where he makes rules to
suit his own preferences," Wehrle said.
Ellen
Cook of Madison, a longtime Catholic who worked in the diocese's religious education
office for seven years, said the lawsuit's allegations make her "tremendously
sad."
"I
don't want it to be true, and I just have to be glad that the church is broader
than the authority structure," she said.
Morlino
retains many strong supporters. Pat Gehred, who attends St. Joseph Catholic Church
in Fort Atkinson, said while she was not familiar with the lawsuit and could not
comment on it, she has been very impressed by Morlino's tenure.
"I
so appreciate his frankness," she said. "I cannot say enough good things
about him. I pray every day that he's not terribly persecuted, because I know
that position attracts a lot of criticism."
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