WCC Urges Legislators to Oppose Online Sports Gambling Bill
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| The WCC encourages all citizens to contact their state senator and representative to oppose SB 592 and AB 601, which begins the process of legalizing online sports gambling in Wisconsin. The bill is scheduled to receive a floor vote in the Assembly this Wednesday, November 19.
The Catholic Church does not object to games of chance or wagers in themselves (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2314). However, gambling is unjust when it surpasses entertainment and becomes a source of enslavement, depriving people of what they need. Online sports gambling harms individuals and families, especially those that can least afford it.
The WCC’s recent memo to legislators highlights studies showing the negative impacts of online sports gambling, including a decrease in net investments and credit availability and higher rates of credit card debt, overdrawing, bankruptcy, as well as mental health crises and suicide. In addition to enabling these negative impacts, the legislation also does not include important consumer protections, such as advertising restrictions, maximum spending amounts, or additional support for gambling addiction treatment and prevention.
Join the WCC in urging legislators to vote NO by contacting your legislators below. |
U.S. Bishops Issue a Special Message on Immigration
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(Justice for Immigrants photo)
On November 12, the U.S. Bishops issued a special message on immigration from their fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore. Special messages may only be issued at plenary assemblies and are statements to show consensus and address the circumstances of the time. The last time the bishops issued such a message was in 2013, in response to the federal government’s contraceptive mandate.
The bishops expressed their concern for the current climate surrounding immigration, noting:
We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status. We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools. We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.
The special message highlighted Catholic teaching and advocated for meaningful reform:
Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants. We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures. Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together.
The bishops stressed that “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.” |
Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob Elected Chairman-Elect of USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
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| Also at the plenary meeting, Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was elected the chairman-elect of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. Archbishop Grob–who holds a doctorate in canon law–served as a member of the committee prior to his election. He will serve one year as chairman-elect before beginning his three year term as chairman.
The committee’s mandate includes canonical affairs, relations between Eastern and Latin Churches, boundaries of dioceses and provinces, selection of bishops, conciliation and arbitration, diocesan financial reports, and canonical questions concerning pastoral practices. Read more about the committee’s work and the standing committees of the USCCB. |
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USCCB Approves Amendments to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services
The bishops at their plenary meeting also discussed and voted on a revision of the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic Health Care Services. The upcoming Seventh Edition addresses and incorporates teachings from a doctrinal note issued by the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine in 2023, which included a prohibition on Catholic hospitals from providing transgender surgical and hormonal procedures. The ERDs now state:
28. Since “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift,” we have a duty “to protect our humanity,” which means first of all, “accepting it and respecting it as it was created.” In order to respect the nature of the human person as a unity of body and soul, Catholic health care services must not provide or permit medical interventions, whether surgical, hormonal, or genetic, that aim not to restore but rather to alter the fundamental order of the human body in its form or function. This includes, for example, some forms of genetic engineering whose purpose is not medical treatment, as well as interventions that aim to transform sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex (or to nullify sexual characteristics of a human body).
29. In accord with the mission of Catholic health care, which includes serving those who are vulnerable, Catholic health care services and providers “must employ all appropriate resources to mitigate the suffering of those who experience gender incongruence or gender dysphoria” and to provide for the full range of their health care needs, employing only those means that respect the fundamental order of the human body.
Read more about the full update to the ERDs here. |
FoodShare Payments Resume in Wisconsin
During the government shutdown, payments for the joint federal-state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin) were temporarily on put on hold. The Trump Administration sought to give partial, delayed payments to individuals for November. However, after a court order directed the Administration to fund November payments in full, Governor Evers announced Wisconsin would provide full November FoodShare payments. The next day, the Administration appealed the lower court order to the U.S. Supreme Court which issued a stay, pausing the order for full payments. The Administration then directed Wisconsin officials to undo the distribution of the full payments and Governor Evers refused. |
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| Now that the shutdown is over, regular FoodShare payments should continue. Authorized retailers continue to accept FoodShare and that benefits remain active and usable across the state. |
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WCC Internship Opportunity
The WCC is hiring an intern for Spring 2026. The individual will assist with coordination of March for Life 2026, communication and outreach to Catholic groups via social media and direct calls and emails, and event planning and logistics. The paid internship is from January 2026 to May 2026 for 7.5 hours a week.
See the full posting for additional details and how to apply. Please contact the WCC office with any questions. |
Abortion Definition ▲ Testified in support
SB 553 (Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood) / AB 546 (Joy Goeben, R-Hobart)
The bill amends the various statutory definitions of abortion to make explicit that a physician’s performance of a medical procedure or treatment designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant woman and not designed or intended to kill the unborn child is not an abortion. This includes an early induction or cesarean section performed due to a medical emergency, or the removal of a miscarried or stillborn child, or an ectopic, anembryonic, or molar pregnancy.
Status: The Senate bill passed out of committee and is scheduled for a floor vote on Tuesday, November 18. |
Reporting of Sex & Fetal Anomaly Following Abortion ▲ Testified in support
SB 406 (André Jacque, R-De Pere) / AB 407 (Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego)
The bill requires that any facility that performs an induced abortion report to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services the sex of the child who was aborted and whether the child had any fetal anomalies, so that this information can be added to the state’s birth defect registry. Current law already requires that the facility report certain demographic information, the probable gestational age of the child, any complications, and more.
Status: Since the public hearing, the Senate committee has taken no further action.Federal Tax Credits to Scholarship Granting Organizations ▲ Testified in support
SB 600 (Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk) / AB 602 (Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek)
The bill requires the state to take appropriate steps to facilitate and ensure participation in the newly created federal tax credit scholarship program. The federal program allows individuals to receive a $1,700 dollar for dollar tax credit for donations made to qualifying K-12 scholarship granting organizations. Such organizations can only qualify for the tax credit program if the state opts in to the program.
Status: The Assembly bill passed out of committee and is scheduled for a floor vote on Wednesday, November 19.Eligibility for Parental Choice Programs Based on Sibling Participation ▲ Testified in support
SB 452 (John Jagler, R-Watertown) / AB 460 (Cindi Duchow, R-Town of Delafield)
Under this bill, a student is eligible to participate in one of the three parental choice programs if the student’s sibling (or a dependent child of the parents) participated in the program the previous school year. The parental choice programs already have a so-called “once in, always in” provision meaning that students keep the voucher even if family income rises above the threshold, so long as the student does not voluntarily leave the program. This bill extends this provision to siblings or other children in the family.
Status: The Assembly bill passed out of committee and is available for a floor vote.
MA Coverage for Incarcerated Individuals ▲ Registered in support
SB 598 (Jesse James, R-Thorp) / AB 604 (Clint Moses, R-Menomonie)
This bill directs the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to apply for a waiver from the federal government to seek pre-release coverage under the Medical Assistance program for incarcerated individuals. Designed to reduce recidivism by proactively treating substance abuse, individuals who are incarcerated and qualify for Medicaid can receive case management, medication for behavioral therapy, and a 30 day supply of prescription medication to aid their treatment upon release.
Status: The Senate bill passed out of committee and is available for a floor vote. Since the public hearing, the Assembly committee has taken no further action.
Long-Term Care Visits ▲ Registered in support
SB 417 (André Jacque, R-De Pere) / AB 418 (Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego)
The bill ensures in-person visitation rights for patients and residents in health care facilities during an outbreak or epidemic of a communicable disease. With certain limitations, the bill ensures that patients and residents have the ability to visit with clergy members and other essential visitors.
Status: Since the public hearing, the Senate committee has taken no further action. |
More Updates from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
To take action on the USCCB’s current federal action alerts, click here. |
Legislative Resources
Find the WCC’s session priorities, legislative committees, contact info for your legislators, and more.
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