Catholic Legal Education

Susan asks us to consider "what it means to be a Catholic law school."  At Notre Dame, where I teach, we are certainly invited to think about (indeed, we can hardly avoid thinking about) this question.  I cannot pretend to have a great answer, but I am inclined to think that a satisfactory answer has to incorporate, in some way, the fact -- and the implications of this fact -- that Christianity is true.

I do not mean to be glib; obviously, there is a lot more to say.  Still, I cannot help thinking that -- for all our wrestling with mission statements, fostering engagement, facilitating conversations, and "asking the questions" -- a Catholic law school has to reflect, in all that it does, a commitment to the fundamental truth that Jesus is Lord, and to (what seems to me to be) the obvious corollary that this truth matters and makes a difference.  The precise implications are of this truth are, of course, the subject of disagreement among faithful and reasonable people of good will.  But I wouldn't think that a law school could meaningfully claim to be Catholic that was unwilling to start from, and build upon, this truth claim.

Rick