Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Over at Public Discourse, my friend and co-author Lee Strang and I recently published a review of Rev. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C.'s book American Priest, a biography of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. We wrote the review not only because the book is deserving a wide readership, but also as part of our ongoing book-project on the history of American Catholic legal education.
Father Ted is, of course, the man who, as president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952-1987, worked to transform the school from an unremarkable men's Catholic college (better known for its football than its academics) into one of America's elite universities. As much as anyone, Hesburgh is responsible for changing the face of Catholic higher education in the United States.
For all the changes he helped to bring about, Father Hesburgh enjoys the reputation of a visionary, and a man of great ambition. Surely some of this reputation is well deserved. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, we believe that the conclusion to be drawn from Father Miscamble's book is that Father Ted lacked the vision and imagination necessary to achieve the goal that Hesburgh set for himself: to make Notre Dame into a truly great university (as measured by the standard's of the secular academy) and one that is at the same time authentically Catholic. Father Hesburgh seems to have thought that the ongoing Catholic identity of a Catholic university could be assured simply by hosting a theology department, supporting an active campus ministry, and fostering a sense of community in student residential life. While each of these qualities is important, the goal of a "great Catholic university" simply cannot be attained absent the thoughtful implementation of practical strategies in the hiring and retention of faculty that are designed to build and sustain a community of Catholic intellectuals.
We encourage everyone to read the review and Father Miscamble's excellent book.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
For interested readers in the Philadelphia area, the distinguished historian of Christianity Robert Louis Wilken will be speaking at Villanova this Thursday (September 5) at 4:00pm about his recent book Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom (Yale, 2019). Details here.
The Chinese government has built a vast network of re-education camps and a pervasive system of surveillance to monitor and subdue millions from Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.
Now China is also turning to an older, harsher method of control: filling prisons in Xinjiang.
The region in northwest China has experienced a record surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences in the past two years, according to a New York Times analysis of previously unreported official data.
Full article from The New York Times
Friday, August 30, 2019
The Trump administration is threatening to pull federal funding from a Vermont hospital because of allegations that a nurse was forced to participate in what federal officials said was an abortion procedure, despite her religious objections.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Wednesday announced it told the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMC) that it had violated the law "by forcing a nurse to assist in an elective abortion procedure over the nurse’s conscience-based objections."
The agency said it has given the hospital 30 days to bring its conscience protection and staffing policies into compliance with federal law, or face the loss of federal funding.
Full story at The Hill
Thursday, August 29, 2019
While many are celebrating the ordination of the first bishop in China since a deal was struck between the Vatican and the Chinese government on bishop appointments last year, some experts have said the event is indicative of neither the terms of the agreement or its success, since the bishop ordained had been selected before the accord was signed.
Read the full article at Crux
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
I have a short piece, posted at Public Discourse, with "some thoughts for new law students." Comments and reactions welcome! Here's a taste:
With apologies to Douglas Adams, this is the “meaning of life, the universe, and everything” Layer. Here, we ask not only about the “legislative intent” underlying a particular provision, but also about, for example, “who and what we are, what we were made for, and why it might matter.” Layer Four is where we think about not only the most efficient default rules and the “cheapest cost avoiders,” but also about the nature and destiny of the human person, and the connection between our human nature and the legal enterprise. St. Augustine famously wrote that “you have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” This is a fact about us. We need to ask, “what differences does this fact make?” What does it mean for the law, and for lawyering, that we have, as C.S. Lewis suggested, a “God-shaped hole”?
We have traveled a long way from learning to report the implications of a fee simple or to recite the Model Penal Code’s hierarchy of culpable mental states. At the end of the day, it all comes down to Layer Four. Whether we realize it or not, this is where “the law” is. Yes, some law schools, teachers, judges, and scholars will insist or pretend otherwise; some will propose that the law in fact is, and must be, “neutral” with respect to Layer Four matters. However, it cannot, and should not, be.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
RFI President Thomas Farr recently joined The Weekend Answer radio show to offer his perspective on the meaning and significance of last month’s Second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.
The whole point of this [Ministerial] is to build international consensus about what began as a uniquely American idea back in the late 1990s…That is, religious freedom is good for everybody — not just Christians, not just Jews or Muslims, not just religious people — it is good for everybody.
Listen to the full interview here
