Catholic Charities asks Supreme Court to protect First Amendment rights in battle against the state

A Wisconsin-based Catholic Charities group is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in its fight to stay exempt from a state unemployment program. 

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior, represented by lawyers at Becket Law, has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and is asking the high court to recognize its care for the poor, the elderly and the disabled as part of its religious mission. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 earlier this year that Catholic Charities’ service to the poor and needy did not count as "typical" religious activities. The diocese's social ministry arm is seeking to be exempt from the state's unemployment compensation program so it can join the Wisconsin Catholic Church’s program.

"Catholic Charities Bureau carries out our Diocese’s essential ministry of caring for the most vulnerable members of our society," said Bishop James Powers, Bishop of the Diocese of Superior. "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." 

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Under Wisconsin law, non-profits that are operated for a religious purpose are generally exempt from the state's program. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Catholic Charities was not exempt, because it serves everyone, not just Catholics. 

The court said that Catholic Charities could qualify for an exemption only if it limited its hiring to Catholics and tried to convert those it served. But lawyers argue that the Catholic Church forbids Catholics from conditioning assistance on acceptance of the Church’s teachings.

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"The Wisconsin Supreme Court thought it atypical of religion that Catholic Charities does not ‘attempt to imbue’ those it helps with the Catholic faith, and that it hires employees 'regardless of religion.' And the court held that because Catholic Charities provides services that ‘can be provided by organizations of either religious or secular motivations,’ those services do not have a religious purpose," the petition to the Supreme Court states. 

"Put another way, it doesn’t matter if Catholic Charities gives a cup of water in Jesus’ name, because non-religious charities offer cups of water too." 

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"That absurd result deepens a split between state courts that require religious entities to conform to stereotypes to qualify for the ‘religious purposes’ exemption and those that do not," the petition states.

"And that thrusts state governments into a thicket of First Amendment questions under the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the church autonomy doctrine, not least because it forces agencies and courts to second-guess the religious decisions of religious bodies," it continues. 

Catholic Charities is now asking the justices to take the case and ensure that it can receive a religious exemption from the state law like other churches in Wisconsin. 

"It shouldn’t take a theologian to understand that serving the poor is a religious duty for Catholics," said Eric Rassbach, senior counsel at Becket. "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." 

The Supreme Court could decide to take up the case as early as this fall. 

The Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.