Catholic Legal Theory—an anniversary reflection

Rick has mentioned the milestone of the Mirror of Justice’s anniversary and the suggestion that contributors offer some focused reflection on Catholic Legal Theory and the objectives of the MOJ project. During my three year’s of participation, I have expressed my thoughts on a number of occasions. Given the context of commemorative postings, I would like to present a few more thoughts.

Catholic Legal Theory has actually been around for quite some time.  The corpus of writings by many Catholic authors—lay and clerical—spanning the centuries has often examined questions dealing with common life or, if you will, the common good and the ordered regulation of human activity.

Perhaps imperfectly but with genius sprinkled through the mixture, many of these writings by Catholic authors have provided an objective counterpoint to subjective legal theories. From Augustine to Aquinas to More to Suárez and de Vitoria to Acton to Rommen to Maritain to the many gifted writers of the present day (including George, Glendon, Finnis, Hittinger, and several MOJ contributors!), we can identify Catholic Legal Theory as a lens through which the human person, the family, society, the state, the nation, and the international community can be viewed individually and together simultaneously. The common denominator to these many Catholic perspectives (even from Catholic authors who do not necessarily define themselves as Catholic authors) is recognition that sound legal theory must simultaneously incorporate the moral, the objective, and the transcendent in the legal order. It is through this order (as opposed to one that is subjectively derived or defined) that the human person, the family, society, the state, the nation, and the international community can better understand not only independence from one another but their vital interdependence with one another. In short, I think Catholic Legal Theory is disposed to ensuring that each of these components of the exercise of human nature exists in right relationship with one another and in right relationship with the Author who made us all. Other legal theories, while interesting and even fascinating, tend to be oriented more to the posited viewpoint that cannot as easily, if at all, recognize and insist on these critical connections.

In addition, I think the Catholic Legal Theorist is not satisfied with his or her participation in this project solely as an intellectual enterprise. I will suggest that the Catholic Legal Theorist is energized by the zeal of the disciple and the call to holiness to propose—not impose—to fellow citizens and to all members of the human family the practical implementation of Catholic Legal Theory through argument based on not just reason but on right reason.

I think I’ll stop at this point and await the reflections of my fellow MOJ contributors.   RJA sj