All Catholic churches across Madison will be forced to play a pre-recorded announcement Sunday, supporting the ban on gay marriage.
Roman Catholic Bishop Robert C. Morlino released the homily on the marriage and death penalty referendums and embryonic-stem cell research, which he has required all churches to play during Masses on Nov. 4 and 5.
In a letter written to priests in Madison, the bishop noted it was mandatory for the message to be played at all masses. The bishop said he was forced to make the recording mandatory because there had been isolated cases of priests not preaching in favor of the gay marriage amendment.
""I must make it clear that any verbal or non-verbal expression of disagreement with this teaching on the part of the priest ... could have serious consequences,"" the bishop wrote in the letter.
This is not the first time, however, that a bishop has directly spoken out in favor of or in opposition to issues on the Nov. 7 ballot. In July, all five bishops of state issued two letters to their parishes—one opposing the death penalty and one in support of the definition of marriage.
In his homily, the bishop called the arguments in opposition to the proposed amendment ""bologna"" and noted he was ""tired of reading"" it in local papers.
""People have a right to marry,"" he said. ""Nobody has a right to redefine marriage."" The bishop went on to say that redefining marriage would lead to the collapse of the family, and eventually the collapse of society.
Mary Uhler, editor of The Catholic Herald, a publication for the Diocese of Madison, supported the bishop's decision to create the mandatory message.
""It's very important that Bishop Morlino educate Catholics about what the church teaches about important issues that we're facing today,"" she said. ""As the shepherd or leader of our Diocese, the bishop is the chief teacher of the Catholic church in our 11 counties.""
Rachel Strauch-Nelson of Fair Wisconsin, a group working to defeat the proposed marriage amendment, noted her group has been working with numerous churches that oppose the amendment because of their religious values.
""We've seen a lot of Catholics come forward and a lot of other people of faith come forward against this amendment,"" she said.
The voters will ultimately decide on whether or not the amendment will pass as they head to the polls on Nov. 7.
