Wisconsin case pivots on whether Catholic charities are ‘religious’

NEW YORK – In a case that could have broad national implications, a Wisconsin Catholic Charities branch has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a state Supreme Court decision that its activities aren’t primarily religious, therefore denying it an exemption from paying into the state’s unemployment compensation program.

Back in March, the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision from a year earlier that the activities of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Superior aren’t primarily religious. The ruling denied the organization a religious exemption from paying into the state’s unemployment compensation program, and prevented it from joining the church’s own unemployment compensation program.

Catholic Charities said after the ruling that it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on August 9 the organization presented its first arguments to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court rules it could have a significant impact on what activities qualify an organization for a religious exemption.

The work of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Superior mirrors that of other Catholic Charities branches nationwide. The organization, according to its website, helps people in the area with education in life skills, vocations and employment, housing, infant development, in-home nursing services, and independent living assistance.

Bishop James Powers of Superior argues that the organization carries out the diocese’s essential ministry.

“Catholic Charities Bureau carries out our Diocese’s essential ministry of caring for the most vulnerable members of our society,” Powers said in a statement. “We pray the Court will recognize that this work of improving the human condition is rooted in Christ’s call to care for those in need.”

Under Wisconsin law, nonprofits that are operated for a religious purpose are generally exempt from paying into the state’s unemployment compensation program. In the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling in the case back in 2023, the majority ruled that the organization’s work to help those in need may stem from Catholic teaching, but in fact it is secular work.

“In other words, they offer services that would be the same regardless of the motivation of the provider, a strong indication that the sub-entities do not ‘operate primarily for religious purposes,’” Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote for the majority.

Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket, which represents Catholics Charities in the case, argued that it’s clear that for Catholic charities, serving the poor is a matter of faith.

“It shouldn’t take a theologian to understand that serving the poor is a religious duty for Catholics,” Rassbach said in a statement. “But the Wisconsin Supreme Court embraced the absurd conclusion that Catholic Charities has no religious purpose. We’re asking the Supreme Court to step in and fix that mistake.”

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