Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Ryan Di CorpoMarch 11, 2020
Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee leaves in procession at the conclusion of Pope Francis' celebration of Mass marking the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 12, 2019. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In response to the upcoming “Catholics for Trump” rally, set for March 19 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki issued a statement clarifying that his archdiocese was not sponsoring the event.

“[T]he Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee are not endorsing the rally and are in no way affiliated to or sponsoring this event or campaign locally, statewide or nationally,” the archbishop said in a letter to Milwaukee parishioners released on March 11.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Faithful that the Catholic Church is not a political organization, nor is it politically affiliated. The mission of the Church is religious, not political,” wrote the archbishop, adding that it is not the role of the church to endorse or urge defeat for specific political candidates.

“The manner in which Catholics vote is entirely guided by a well-formed conscience, a well-informed mind, and a prayerful disposition guided by the Holy Spirit,” he wrote. Archbishop Listecki has in the past criticized Trump administration efforts to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

According to Politico, 52 percent of U.S. Catholics supported Mr. Trump for president in 2016. Despite widespread concerns in the United States about the escalating spread of the novel coronavirus, and the most recent recognition by the World Health Organization of the crisis as a pandemic, the rally has so far not been canceled or postponed. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joseph R. Biden, Jr., have recently canceled campaign events as precautionary measures against Covid-19.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.