On March 31, the US Supreme Court will hear argument in Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. The branch of Catholic Charities involved in this case provides housing and job training to disabled and elderly persons in the Wisconsin Diocese of Superior

The origins of the case go back to 2016 when the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission ruled that the Catholic Charities is ineligible for an unemployment tax exemption. The state permits exemptions for organizations “operated primarily for religious purposes,” yet the Commission ultimately determined that the charitable works of Catholic Charities serves no “religious purpose” when it ministers to the poor, the elderly, and the infirm. The Commission ruled that Catholic Charities’ work is secular (and thus, non-exempt) because its activities resemble those of secular charities.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court acknowledged that the work was rooted in religious motivations, but that since the work lacked any recognizable religious activities such as worship, ritual, teaching the faith, or spreading a religious message. Hmmmm?

We don’t help others because they are Catholic. We help because we are Catholic.