Ann Althouse brings to our attention
this article in the Washington Post explaining the rise in the number of conservative Catholics in the judicial ranks as we are on the verge of a Catholic majority on the US Supreme Court.
Gillman believes that beginning in the 1960s, many conservative Catholics went into the legal profession "because they felt the constitutional jurisprudence of the country was not reflecting their values," particularly on abortion, funding for parochial schools and restrictions on religion in public places. "I think you're seeing the fruits of those efforts now," he said.
Bernard Dobranski, dean of Ave Maria School of Law, a Catholic institution founded in 2000 in Ann Arbor, Mich., said the number of highly qualified conservative Catholic lawyers is also a tribute to the strength of Catholic schools, the determination of immigrants to educate their children and a rich tradition of legal scholarship in the Catholic Church.
A hallmark of that tradition is the belief in "natural law," a basic set of moral principles that the church says is written in the hearts of all people and true for all societies. Though long out of favor in secular law schools, the natural law approach is resurgent among conservatives, Dobranski said.
Meanwhile, DAD29 gives us
a list of the most likely changes to the US Supreme Court under a Catholic majority, including:
10) Meat-less Fridays all year round in the Supreme Court cafeteria;
9) Oral arguments in Latin;
8) The bones of Charles Carroll will be disinterred and placed in a glass coffin at the front of the Chamber;
7) Collections between each session of oral argument;
I leave the rest for you to find and enjoy.
