More on Bishop Listecki's stance on the emergency contraception legislation

As I reported yesterday, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison and my own shepherd, Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, have broken ranks with the Wisconsin Catholic Conference's neutral stance in regard to a bill that would force Catholic hospitals and physicians to administer potentially abortifacient drugs such as the morning after pill.

I had the opportunity to interview Bishop Listecki this afternoon for an article that will appear in the Dec. 27 La Crosse Catholic Times. I will include a brief quote from that interview below, but since this interview belongs to the paper and not to me, Catholic Times editor Dan Rossini has asked that my quote be merely a teaser and not a story prior to the article's publication in The Catholic Times. Any citation of this by news sources should cite a Catholic Times interview that will form the basis of a complete article to come on Dec. 27 .

Bishop Listecki told The Catholic Times that he, like Bishop Morlino, believes the Conference's neutrality was abrogated by the new situation brought about by the lack of a conscience clause amendment. Like the Madison bishop, he acknowledged that many Catholics had become confused by the neutrality position. "What the neutrality position was meant to articulate has been turned around by some to see it as a confirmation for the legislation," he said. "Perceptions in our world are often everything. Neither I nor any bishop in Wisconsin wants to be perceived as being for legislation that goes against the teachings of the Church."

The Dec. 27 article will be posted on this blog. It will include additional comments from Bishop Listecki as well as exclusive quotes from Wisconsin Catholic Conference executive director John Huebscher and Pro-Life Wisconsin legislative director Matt Sande.