Father Dennis Mullens, an 82-year-old priest of the Diocese of Superior, Michigan, does not like the label “retired.” He prefers to think of himself as not having an “assigned ministry,” which allows him time for personal pursuits. But those pursuits are still very much rooted in his priesthood ...
He does enjoy meeting friends for breakfast and reading stamp collector’s magazines — one of which led to the discovery of the burial site of a good friend’s father, who was a German soldier killed in WWII. Until recent months, he had also been a regular Mass celebrant at regional parishes, since not every parish can offer weekend Mass without the assistance of the “retired” priests.
Although short in stature and living with Parkinson’s disease for many years, Father Mullens’ personality fills a room; his voice, even with slight tremors, preaches powerful messages from the pulpit. The Holy Family is a preferred topic of his, and he particularly challenges men to take their role seriously as husbands and fathers: to protect their families and homes from any and all influences that threaten their peace, unity, love for all, and following God, the Father of all; to be responsible not only for the physical lives they helped bring into the world but also for souls.
Another topic he has spoken about for more than two decades is adoption. The priest has been known to shed a tear over his conviction that one cannot call themselves pro-life if they are not willing to ask, “Is there room for one more at our family’s table?”
In 2020, the Father Dennis Mullens Adoption Initiative was founded with $1,000 seed money given to the Knights of Columbus Council 2137 in Rice Lake.
If we treasure the lives of unborn children …
Fr. Mullens had been preaching on adoption and speaking about it at Knights of Columbus meetings regionally and state-wide. Already before Roe v. Wade was overturned, he had tirelessly repeated, “The Catholic Church better step up for adoption. Period.”
In conversation with Aleteia, the priest recounted that when he meets a family who has been able to adopt with the help of this fund, he feels “immensely humbled by the generosity of these families that take in children, often children with special needs.”
Adopting children out of the foster care system is an invitation particularly close to his heart. On many occasions, Father Mullens has spoken about the gift he received of growing up in a loving home with two wonderful parents, but how it breaks his heart to hear of experiences where children never get to unpack their suitcase. He shared about one man who stood up after one of his presentations to a Knights of Columbus gathering, and told the group of how he had been adopted after living in an astonishing number of 17 different foster homes.
Speaking to the K of C Wisconsin State convention in May 2022, Father Mullens stated that adoption is “a matter of social justice” and should be “a standard part of a regular family, even if there are biological children.”
Repeating the question he has asked time and time again, he urged the men to ask themselves: With a stable home and basic means to care for a child, couldn’t we open our hearts and homes to “one more child?” He answers his own question, saying that with the typical size of families these days, “For the most part, the answer is yes!”
On the initiative’s website, Father Mullens explains how he gave up physical fatherhood when he was ordained a priest, but his ministry has brought him into contact with numerous "discarded" children who are in unstable foster care situations. He hears stories of children aborted by mothers who felt they had no other choice. Fr. Mullens also sees how many families could, if they were willing to stretch their generosity, provide the basic foundation of love and security that God’s children in need should have reason to hope for.
“Adoption should be the Church’s response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade,” he has said. “If we say we treasure the lives of these unborn children, then we darn well better be able to take care of them.”
Local, active adoption support
As of February 2026, the organization has raised more than $130,000 to help families make adoption a more feasible choice. Although the amount may not sound monumental, the difference it has made to the lives of the children who were able to be adopted most certainly is.
Managed by the local Knights, grants are awarded to assist with adoption expenses to and help potential parents with the initial financial concerns. The group has instituted guidelines and procedures, but personally also walks alongside these families offering spiritual accompaniment.
The fund is an excellent example of the Catholic social doctrine principle of subsidiarity, with local people of faith committing to help local families who are open to adoption. Most of the monies have helped persons within the Diocese of Superior but they have helped some in the Diocese of La Crosse to the south, and the group hopes to expand through the state Knights of Columbus council.
Father Mullens told Aleteia that his personal goal is that every Knights of Columbus district would have a connected fund with an overseeing deputy. Realistically, he hopes that one council of each district will get on board. “We’re counting on the long-term cooperation to help,” he added.
“We don’t want to be the only fund, or the only tactic,” the priest clarified. “What we want is active ministry favoring adoption on the local level.”
In 2023, a billboard was placed along State Highway 63 in Northwest Wisconsin to promote the fund. That same year they partnered with kidney transplant advocate and fellow Knight of Columbus Mark Scotch for a 400-mile fundraising bike ride to also raise awareness and erase some of the stigma surrounding placing children with adoptive families. The event garnered coverage across the state from secular media.
Jeff Pierce, treasurer for the fund and close friend of Father Mullens, has shared his own experience of speaking about adoption. When asked if it feels awkward, he replied simply: “Why? If you made me talk about abortion, that would make me feel funny!”
He adds how important it is to continue chipping away at any stigma surrounding adoption. He believes parents who place their children with adoptive families are “real heroes.”
Challenging families, and the Church, to open hearts
Father Mullens admitted to Aleteia that he’s not afraid to challenge families to consider adoption, although his intention is always to do so in a loving way. Pierce, also present for the interview, noted that his challenge is for people to open their hearts more than their pocketbooks.
The long and daunting process of applying to adopt is acknowledged by both men, and they know the self-reflection and probing process of required essays and a home study is tough. They try to support couples and individuals through that, and have adapted their own grant application process to be less burdensome.
“We make an effort to stay with them from the time that they contact us through the entire adoption process,” Father Mullens said. “We check in and do what we can to encourage them on the emotional and psychological side of things, to keep them motivated.”
It is his personal judgment that Church leaders aren't doing enough to support adoption. “We have all this support for anti-abortion efforts, but if we saved every child from abortion, would we as a Church be ready to step in and take care of those children?”
We have prayer services and a month dedicated to respecting life and pro-life causes like the March for Life, Father Mullens commented, “but when is the ‘adoption month’ and where is the ‘march for adoption,’ or what diocese has put out a pastoral letter on adoption?”
Pierce reiterated that the saddest stories are those of older children and those with special needs. “Adoption of infants isn’t a hard thing to get accomplished,” he said. But he shared statistics that girls from age 13 and up, and boys, 11 and up, are extremely hard to place in adoptive homes. “People don’t want to put their effort into helping those kids,” he said.
Father Mullens lamented that he sees more than two dozen programs or advertisements in media promoting the adoption of cats and dogs, before he sees even one or two promoting adoptions of children.
He understands that the adoption process is, in many ways, just the beginning. Families need support — whether adopting children out of the foster system, or even as infants in an open adoption — for ongoing costs and the mental and emotional toll.
“It’s a heavy topic,” Father Mullens concluded, “but a topic that that world needs, period. And the world is not responding.” He shared that in his home state of Wisconsin there are 1,400 to 1,500 children ready for adoption. “Compare that with the total number of Catholic parishes in the state."
“If every parish would support the adoption of one child, that slate probably could be wiped clean … In the United States, there are 116,000 children where there’s no issue of parental rights inhibiting adoption … Why can’t we find ways to get them into good homes?"
“Every child deserves a good father and a good mother,” without "good" needing to equate to perfect, the priest reflected.
No child is born an angel, he said, but “a good home is the best place for them to be able to flourish.”
