* The Illinois Policy Institute’s Diana Sroka Rickert writing in the Tribune…

In the ongoing state budget battle, is the Roman Catholic Church taking sides?

No. But opponents of Gov. Bruce Rauner want you to think it is.

At the request of local unions, Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich recently spoke at a West Side union hall about the church’s teachings on work and workers.

After the speech, Democrat House Speaker Michael Madigan and government unions boasted that Cupich and the Catholic Church were on their side.

“The archbishop has said the same thing that we’ve been saying in Springfield,” Madigan said.

Government unions in Illinois promoted their interpretation of the archbishop’s comments online.

“Cupich today reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s longstanding commitment to collective bargaining, to unions … a message a certain governor might want to consider,” Service Employees International Union posted on its Facebook page.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees posted a picture of Cupich and wrote, “We couldn’t agree more. LIKE and SHARE if you do, too!”

Here’s the problem: Cupich didn’t say he agrees with Madigan, SEIU, AFSCME or any other government union on any issues. In his remarks, Cupich referenced the debate over whether Illinois should become the nation’s 26th right-to-work state — but was careful not to say where he and the church stood on the issue.

“The archbishop has not taken a position,” said Susan Burritt, archdiocesan spokeswoman. “The archbishop never offered a judgment on any legislation.” […]

As a Catholic, I’m all for solidarity: caring for others, respecting people as individuals, fighting against inequality and injustice. But Speaker Madigan, AFSCME and SEIU: We’re not on the same team. Your version of solidarity has no place in the Catholic Church.

* OK, first of all, while the archbishop didn’t take a stand on any particular legislation, his words were pretty darned clear…

I will also add my voice when it is prudent and helpful in egregious examples of injustice. The Church can’t weigh in on every issue, on every dispute…it lacks the capacity or the competence. However, when the Church sees fundamental values being threatened or undermined, the Church will speak up—to offer basic moral principles, to defend the weak and vulnerable and to promote the common good.

For example in view of present day attempts to enact so-called right-to-work laws the Church is duty bound to challenge such efforts by raising questions based on longstanding principles. We have to ask, “Do these measures undermine the capacity of unions to organize, to represent workers and to negotiate contracts? Do such laws protect the weak and vulnerable? Do they promote the dignity of work and the rights of workers? Do they promote a more just society and a more fair economy? Do they advance the common good?”

Lawmakers and others may see it differently, but history has shown that a society with a healthy, effective and responsible labor movement is a better place than one where other powerful economic interests have their way and the voices and rights of workers are diminished. […]

My final point is that I hope that you and your members will see in the Catholic Church a consistent ally for economic justice and a partner in promoting the common good. First, I will personally support workers’ efforts to secure their rights and adequate conditions to accomplish their work. In a talk last June, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington observed that growing up in southwest Pennsylvania he learned early on that “one visible way that solidarity was manifested, both within the movement and in the larger society, was respect for the picket line. He also talked about the new “picket lines” that should not be crossed, like demonizing immigrants, racial profiling and wage theft, to name just three. In solidarity with you, I want you to know that the Archdiocese of Chicago will honor your picket lines.

Secondly, I will continue to encourage priests of this Archdiocese to be involved in the labor movement. They will continue the legacy of great priests such as Msgr. John Hayes, Msgr. George Higgins, and Msgr. Jack Egan and Fr. Clete Kiley.

* Whenever someone uses the phrase “so-called right-to-work laws,” they oppose so-called right to work laws, like myself, for example. And when somebody declares they’ll honor a picket line, well, that’s pretty serious stuff.

* And speaking of Father Kiley, earlier this year Cupich appointed Kiley as his moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Kiley is now responsible for day-to-day archdiocesan operations and administration. Thanks to an alert reader, I realized belatedly that Kiley left that position. He’s now doing union ministry work.

Fr. Kiley is about as pro-union as a person can get, but he now has a very important position and is using that bully pulpit to back organized labor. He somewhat previewed the archbishop’s speech back in June regarding so-called “right to work” laws…

“These laws fundamentally are an assault on solidarity. They are an attempt to break unions and a way to exclude more people from an active role in the economy.”

Also, if you watch the video, make sure to stick around to the end when Kiley talks about “think tanks that still say you can be a Catholic and a libertarian. Real cafeteria Catholics. And I’d like to say the cafeteria is closed.”