Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Archbishop Heiss was followed in 1890 by Bishop of Green bay, Frederick Katzer, whose appointment, as the third German-speaking archbishop, was not universally well-received by the Irish. Shortly before his arrival, Wisconsin passed the Bennett Law which required that major subjects in all public and private elementary and high schools be taught in English. This was perceived as an attack on immigrants and parochial schools. As German Catholics and Lutherans each operated large numbers of parochial schools in the state where German was used in the classroom, it was bitterly resented by German-American, predominantly Catholic Polish Americans, and some Norwegian communities. The law was endorsed and promoted by among others, the anti-Catholic American Protective Association. Representatives of the group also made public announcements that the Roman Catholic hierarchy had instigated the Civil War.[8] They also circulated forged documents, including an alleged Papal encyclical purportedly over the signature of Pope Leo XIII calling for Catholics to "exterminate all heretics" on or about St. Ignatius Day [September 5], 1893.[9]

"Most all of the better class of immigrants are Protestants. It remains that, almost entirely, the lowest class are Roman Catholics.... Among these are mostly found the train wreckers, robbers, plunderers, murderers, and assassins of the country.... In the large cities criminal statistics show that while Roman Catholics furnish about four percent of the population, they produce more than one-half of the crime, if we except those cities in which there is a large percent of negro criminals."[10]

The group sought to exert influence by boosting its supporters in campaigns and at political conventions, particularly those of the Republican Party. Archbishop Katzer lobbied strongly for the repeal of the Bennett Law in 1890. Traditionally Democratic Irish Catholics were initially not as vigorous in opposition to the law, with a substantial section of the community even supporting it, as Governor Hoard had hoped. However, the outpouring of militantly anti-Catholic rhetoric by many of the law's supporters alienated a majority of the Irish in Wisconsin, prompting the top Irish newspaper in the state, the Chippewa Falls-based Catholic Citizen, to write that the law represented a convergence of "all the sectarian, bigoted, fanatical and crazy impurities" within the Republican Party which had taken the reins of power.[11] The law was repealed in 1891.

In a report released by the Wisconsin State Senate in 2003, a total of 58 priests were revealed to have been accused of sexually abusing children while serving in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.[12] Weakland admitted allowing priests guilty of child sex abuse to continue as priests without warning parishioners or alerting the police.[13] Weakland stated in his autobiography that in the early years of the sexual abuse scandal he did not understand that child sexual abuse was a crime.[14]

On March 18, 2019, it was announced that former Archbishops William Cousins and Rembert Weakland would have their names removed from buildings in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee due to their poor handling of sex abuse cases.[15] The renaming of Archdiocese of Milwaukee office centers which were named in their honor commenced on March 22, 2019.[16]

On 17 July 2011 the archdiocese launched "a national advertising campaign to notify sex abuse victims of their deadline to file claims. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January after it failed to reach a settlement with two dozen victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy."[17] About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.[18] The archdiocese paid financial settlements to claimants funded "through various sources, including insurance, loans and the sale of property", and funds were set aside to pay for therapy.[19]

1. John Martin Henni (1844–1881)
2. Michael Heiss (1881–1890)
3. Frederick Katzer (1890–1903)
4. Sebastian Gebhard Messmer[22] (1903–1930)
5. Samuel Stritch (1930–1940), appointed Archbishop of Chicago (Cardinal in 1946) and later Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
6. Moses E. Kiley[23] (1940–1953)
7. Albert Gregory Meyer (1953–1958), appointed Archbishop of Chicago (Cardinal in 1959)
8. William Edward Cousins (1959–1977)
9. Rembert Weakland, O.S.B. (1977–2002)
10. Timothy Michael Dolan (2002–2009), appointed Archbishop of New York (Cardinal in 2012)
11. Jerome Edward Listecki (2010–present)

• Joseph Maria Koudelka (1911–1913), appointed Bishop of Superior
• Edward Kozłowski (1913–1915)
• Roman Richard Atkielski (1947–1969)
• Leo Joseph Brust (1969–1991)
• Richard J. Sklba (1979–2010)
• William P. Callahan, OFM Conv. (2007–2010), appointed Bishop of La Crosse
• Donald J. Hying (2011–2015), appointed Bishop of Gary and later Bishop of Madison
• Jeffrey Robert Haines (2017–present)
• James Thomas Schuerman (2017–present)

The following men began their service as priests in Milwaukee before being appointed bishops elsewhere:

• Raphael Michael Fliss, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Superior in 1979
• Francis Joseph Haas, appointed Bishop of Grand Rapids in 1943
• Jerome J. Hastrich (priest here, 1941-1945), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Madison in 1963 and later Bishop of Gallup
• James Michael Harvey, appointed Prefect of the Prefecture of the Papal Household and Titular Bishop in 1998 (later elevated to Titular Archbishop) and later Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (elevated to Cardinal in 2012)
• David John Malloy, appointed Bishop of Rockford in 2012
• Aloisius Joseph Muench, appointed Bishop of Fargo in 1935 and Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (elevated to Cardinal in 1959)
• William Patrick O'Connor, appointed Bishop of Superior in 1941
• Joseph Perry, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago in 1998
• Augustine Francis Schinner, appointed Bishop of Superior in 1905
• Paul Francis Tanner, appointed titular bishop in 1965 and later Bishop of Saint Augustine
• Fabian W. Bruskewitz, appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 1992

• Basilica of St. Josaphat, Milwaukee
• Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, a minor basilica, Hubertus, Wisconsin

• Archdiocesan Marian Shrine, Milwaukee

• See List of Parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee