Robert C. Morlino
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Bishop Robert C. Morlino (born December 31, 1946) is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. The fourth bishop of Madison, he previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, and a priest in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as a Jesuit priest.
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[edit] Early life
Morlino was born on December 31, 1946 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father died when he was young and in high school, and was brought up primarily by his mother and grandmother. After graduating high school, he attended the seminary of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and was ordained a priest in 1974.
[edit] Education
In addition to his graduation from the Maryland Jesuit seminary, Morlino completed an undergraduate degree of Philosophy at Fordham University. He also studied at the University of Notre Dame (Master of Philosophy), Weston School of Theology (Master of Divinity), and the Gregorian University (Doctor of Moral Theology).
[edit] Career
As a priest, Morlino taught philosophy at several colleges and universities, including Boston College, the University of Notre Dame, and Loyola College. In 1981, he was incardinated as a priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, where he served as the administrator of several parishes, and also in within the diocesan structure.
On July 6, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him the ninth Bishop of Helena, where he served for almost four years until 2003, when John Paul II again appointed him the fourth Bishop of Madison.
While in Madison, Morlino has faced several challenges, including a large fire that destroyed most of the Diocese's cathedral, St. Raphael's, and the continued fallout from the priestly abuse scandal that occurred throughout the United States. More recently, Morlino has come under fire for requiring all parishes in the Diocese of Madison to hear a message recorded by Morlino that addressed a wide range of politcal issues including the protection of traditional marriage, capital punishment, and stem-cell research. In his message, delivered just before the November 2006 elections, Morlino urged Catholics to vote in defense of traditional marriage and to adopt a pro-life stance on the issues of capital punishment and embryonic stem cell research. Morlino has since been accused of electioneering by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for his statements to parishioners of his diocese urging them to vote in support of traditional marriage.
Morlino currently serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. He is the past chairman of Bishops' Committee on the Diaconate and Ad Hoc Committee on Health Care Issues and the Church, both within the structure of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
