Milwaukee Archdiocese relationship with Wisdom

Got this email forwarded:

The message below makes official the symbiotic relationship between Wisdom and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. One minute Wisdom is running an anti-Walker newspaper ad signed by dozens of priests and nuns, and the next minute the Archdiocese is proclaiming a grand new partnership with them. One minute Wisdom (through Racine Interfaith Coalition) is mobilizing voters to elect pro-abortion Tom Barrett and Tom Lehman, and the next minute its affiliates "may be contacting your parish to host an educational forum". Oh, and I forgot to mention that Wisdom still has representation on the board of the pro-abortion Citizen Action of Wisconsin, even after removing their name as a "member" from the CAW website. http://citizenactionwi.org/board/citizen-action-of-wisconsin-board-of-directors.html

Please let Archbishop Listecki know what you think about this.

EMAIL FROM ARCHDIOCESE SOCIAL JUSTICE DIRECTOR TO "HUMAN CONCERNS CONTACTS"

Dear Human Concerns Contacts,

I hope that each of you is enjoying the feast day of St. Barnabas and a slightly cooler summer day.

This email is an introduction to WISDOM’s 11X15 Campaign, which seeks to decrease the number of incarcerated people in Wisconsin and promote alternatives to incarceration. (The campaign website is http://prayforjusticeinwi.org/).

As you know the Catholic Church has long been involved in ministering to crime victims and people in jail and prison. These ministries have included advocating for criminal justice reform. In 1999, the Catholic bishops in Wisconsin issued “Public Safety, the Common Good, and the Church: A Statement on Crime and Punishment in Wisconsin.” The statement set forth five guiding principles:
Corrections policies must convey respect for the human person.
Policies must serve the common good.
Policies must exercise an option for the poor and marginalized.
Policies, even those that enforce strict punishment, must serve the end of restoration.
Policies must foster the principle of solidarity among all in the community.

In light of these guiding principles, our current Wisconsin bishops agreed that WISDOM’s effort to encourage the state to reduce its prison population from a current level of 22,000 to 11,000 by 2015 (hence the 11X15 name) is consistent with Church teaching. [How could an arbitrary number like that be remotely plausible?]

For the purposes of this 11X15 initiative, the Bishops invite individual parishes to collaborate with WISDOM on this campaign, but parish should not become official corporate sponsors of 11X15. That is to say, education of parishioners may take place but parish funds should not be donated to WISDOM for the campaign.

For those of you unfamiliar with WISDOM, it is an affiliate of the Gamaliel Foundation and an umbrella which includes nine congregation-based community organizations. Within the Archdiocese, there are four groups: MICAH Milwaukee County, RIC Racine County, CUSH Kenosha County, and SOPHIA Waukesha County. In the near future, one of these groups may be contacting your parish to host an educational forum.

For further information please contact me.

Take care and God bless,

Robert Shelledy
Coordinator Social Justice Ministry
Archdiocese of Milwaukee