Mirror of Justice

A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory.
Affiliated with the Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Papal Address to New U.S. Ambassador

By Michael Scaperlanda

This from Zenit:

"Confident That Your Nation Will Continue to Demonstrate a Leadership …"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 13, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered Saturday to Francis Rooney, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, on the occasion of the presentation of his credentials.

* * *

Mr. Ambassador,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See. I am grateful for the message of greetings which you have brought from President Bush; I would ask you kindly to assure him in a particular way of my prayerful solidarity with all those affected by the recent storms in the southern part of your country, as well as the support of my prayers for those engaged in the massive work of relief and rebuilding.

In his Message for the 2005 World Day of Peace, my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, called attention to the intrinsic ethical dimension of every political decision, and observed that the disturbing spread of social disorder, war, injustice and violence in our world can ultimately be countered only by renewed appreciation and respect for the universal moral law whose principles derive from the Creator himself (cf. Nos. 2-3). A recognition of the rich patrimony of values and principles embodied in that law is essential to the building of a world which acknowledges and promotes the dignity, life and freedom of each human person, while creating the conditions of justice and peace in which individuals and communities can truly flourish. It is precisely the promotion and defense of these values, which must govern relations between nations and peoples in the pursuit of the common good of the human family, that inspires the presence and activity of the Holy See within the international community. As the Second Vatican Council stated, the Church's universal religious mission does not allow her to be identified with any particular political, economic or social system, yet at the same time, this mission serves as a source of commitment, direction and strength which can contribute to establishing and consolidating the human community in accordance with God's law (cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 42).

For this reason, I appreciate your kind reference to the Holy See's efforts to contribute to finding effective solutions to some of the more significant problems facing the international community in recent years, such as the scandal of continued widespread hunger, grave illness and poverty in large areas of our world. An adequate approach to these issues cannot be limited to purely economic or technical considerations, but demands broad vision, practical solidarity and courageous long-term decisions with regard to complex ethical questions; among the latter I think especially of the effects of the crushing debt that feeds the spiral of poverty in many less developed nations. The American people have long been distinguished for their generous charitable outreach to the disadvantaged and the needy on every continent. In a world of increasing globalization, I am confident that your nation will continue to demonstrate a leadership based on unwavering commitment to the values of freedom, integrity and self-determination, while cooperating with the various international instances which work to build genuine consensus and to develop a unified course of action in confronting issues critical to the future of the whole human family.

Mr. Ambassador, I take this opportunity to recall that just over two decades ago full diplomatic relations were established between the United States and the Holy See, thanks to the efforts of then-President Ronald Reagan and the late Pope John Paul II. I appreciate the dialogue and fruitful cooperation which these relations have made possible, and I express my hope that in years to come they will be deepened and consolidated. As you begin your mission, I offer you my prayerful good wishes for the work you will undertake in the service of your nation, and I assure you of the constant readiness of the offices of the Holy See to assist you in the fulfillment of your responsibilities. Upon you and your family, and upon all the beloved American people, I cordially invoke God's blessings of prosperity, joy and peace.

Friday, November 4, 2005

Upcoming Book: Self-Evident Truth?: Catholic Perspectives on American Law

By Michael Scaperlanda

In the spring of 2007, Catholic University of America Press will publish a book tentatively titled "Self-Evident Truth?:  Catholic Perspectives on American Law."  The book is co-edited by MOJ friend Teresa Collett and yours truly.  Contributers include MOJ bloggers Robert Araujo, Rick Garnett, Amy Uelmen, and Rob Vischer.  Other contributers include Lorenzo Albacete, Benedict Ashley, John Coughlin, Cardinal Dulles, Robert George, Mary Ann Glendon, Jim Gordley, Tom Kohler, Kevin Lee, Vince Rougeau, and Chris Wolfe.

A starting assumption of the book is that before we can discuss law we have to have some grasp of the nature of the human person.  Therefore, after a chapter on the foundations of Catholic Legal Theory, the book has two anthropological chapters, one theological and the other philosophical.  The next section of the book has three chapters covering foundational issues in Catholic thinking, covering the relationship of freedom to truth, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good.  This is followed by two chapters on Catholic dialogue with secular perspectives in political and legal theory.  The final section of the book contains eight chapters addressing Catholic Perspectives on particular substantive areas of the law, including all of the subjects (except Civil Procedure) traditionally taught in the first year of law school.

In the future I'll post the table of contents and blog more about the book and its potential audience and uses.  I will probably assign it (in pre-publication form) for my seminar in Religion and Democracy next fall and hope others at both the law school and undergraduate level will consider it for their students. 

For me, this has been a labor of love, which I hope finds a wide audience. Our Sunday Visitor Institute was instrumental in getting the project off the ground by providing funding to host a conference addressing these issues several years ago.  And, Bob Destro, then interim Dean at Catholic, was gracious enough to host us.  The book, which has changed significantly in the intervening years, is a direct result of that conference.

Michael

Monday, October 31, 2005

More "Catholic" than Catholics

By Michael Scaperlanda

A few days ago, Tom posted the results of a survey that suggested that born-again Christians and evangelicals were more Catholic than Catholics on a host of issues including contraception and fetal stem cell research.  Could it be that those who identify themselves as born-again or evangelical are likely to attend church more often and take their faith more seriously than a great number of Catholics? 

Michael

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Religious Beliefs in the Law School Class

By Michael Scaperlanda

An article titled "Is God on Your Seating Chart?:  Discussing Religious Beliefs in Class" appears in the Fall 2005 issue of "The Law Teacher."  In the article, GW law professor, Robert Palmer, says that he allows students to express religious beliefs in class because "student beliefs, particularly religious beliefs, can be informative and bring us to a deeper level of understanding."  But how is it informative and how does it lead to a deeper level of understanding?   If I understand Palmer, he suggests that it allows the students a deeper awareness of the subjective motivations at play in our polity.  He doesn't think, however, that expressions of religious belief add anything of reasonable relevance to the teaching and learning of the material in a course.

Palmer views the classroom and its discussion as exercises in logic with an underpinning of experience.  He hopes that "experience and logic will align, and the students will leave class with a beginner's level of understanding of the area of law covered."

In contrast, religion is about belief.  And, although "religious belief usually isn't a knee-jerk, 'that's just the way I feel' belief," it is still just belief and as such "cannot be challenged with logic" because "to do so would be illogical.  All we can do with belief is know it for what it is and add it to our repository of experience."  For Palmer, "logic is a cool white light" while "belief, especially religious belief, can be red hot.  Emotions run high.  Voices rise and quake.  Tempers flare."

The development of Catholic Legal Theory (our stated purpose at MOJ) is premised on a rejection of Palmer's view that religious belief cannot be scrutinized for its logic or reasonableness.  Prudence might indicate that we scrutinize delicately and Jesus commands that we do it in love.  Nevertheless, if a student (or professor, for that matter) makes an argument from religion (or religious belief) in the classroom, it seems to me that student (or professor) opens himself up to being probed and tested as to the reasonableness of their assertion.

Any thoughts?  I will invite Professor Palmer to comment.

Michael S.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Religion Bad for Society? Read Weigel

By Michael Scaperlanda

Rick quoted and posted a link to a report that argues, among other things, that  "[t]he widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted."  Not so fast...  Are these societies really thriving?  George Weigel provides several examples of the failure to thrive in Europe in his book, "The Cube and the Cathedral."  Weigel offers keen insight into how Europe arrived at the present and asks whether the people of the Cube (metaphor for those who would banish God from the public square) or the people of the Cathedral are better positioned to defend human rights, democratic government, etc.  It is well worth the read.

Michael S.   

Sunday, September 25, 2005

CIT (Catholic Intellectual Tradition) reading list

By Michael Scaperlanda

As part of a project while in law school at

St. Thomas

, Matt Donovan (’04 grad) and his compatriots “surveyed a number of experts from various institutions on what they believe to be the most important texts in the tradition, especially in the context of a legal curriculum.  Again, it is important to keep in mind that sufficiently answering the question regarding, say, the top five most important texts in the tradition is difficult at best.  In any event, here’s what they said:

Scripture (OT/NT)—Virtually everyone took for granted that the Bible is most important.

            

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae—Virtually everyone listed the Summa, specifically on the Commandments, Justice, Law, Sacred Doctrine, God, Virtue, Man, Happiness, and Kingship (though I believe On Kingship is its own treatise).          

                                                            

Augustine, City of God—Most everyone agreed that the City of God, specifically books XIV and IXX, is essential.

Augustine, Confessions—Many listed the Confessions as indispensable.

            

Pascal, Pensées—Many listed Pensées as an absolute must.

            

Athanasius, On the Incarnation—Some suggested De Incarnatione.

            

Bernard Lonergan, Insight—Some suggested Lonergan’s enormous work on human understanding.

            

St. Thomas More, Utopia—Some thought this to be an obvious choice for a legal curriculum.

            

St. Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict—A few mentioned Benedict’s Rule, a rigorous guide to living a disciplined life, as essential.

Thomas á Kempis, Imitation of Christ—A few mentioned the importance of Imitatio Christi, the second-most widely published work in         the tradition (after the Bible, of course).

Peter Lombard, Sentences—A few mention the Sentences for sheer influence in the tradition.

Catechism of the Catholic Church—A few mentioned the Catechism.

St. Bonaventure, Itinerarium—A few mentioned Bonaventure as essential.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics and Metaphysics—A few suggested that     one cannot properly understand Aquinas without understanding his master, “the Philosopher.”

At least one person listed the following texts as one of their top five:

                        

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

Bernard Lonergan, Verbum: Word and Idea in Aquinas

St.

Thomas More, Dialogue on Conscience

John Henry Newman, A Grammar of Assent

St. Anselm, Monologion

Plato, Republic

St. Augustine

, On Christian Doctrine

Dante, Divine Comedy

Jacques Maritain, Degrees of Knowledge and Man and the State

Heinrich Rommen, The Natural Law

Yves Simon, The Philosophy of Democratic Government

John Courtney Murray, We Hold These Truths

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets

Peter Abelard, Yes and No (Sic et Non)

Joseph Pieper, Leisure as the Basis of Culture

John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, Centesimus Annus, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and Theology of the Body”

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Reading list continued

By Michael Scaperlanda

Bruce Frohnen has provided a thoughtful list of recommended readings for CST at Kevin Lee's Christian Legal Theory blog.

ACC – Africa, Condoms, and Catholics

By Michael Scaperlanda

In an earlier post, here, responding to an article posted by Michael P., here, I suggested that the Catholic Church’s much criticized position on the use of condoms in Africa was matter of prudential judgment and not absolute moral truth, and, therefore, could be changed.  Now some vindication for the Church’s position coming from the scientific community (as reported by Zenit):

"Condom Conundrums
Evidence Shows Wisdom of Catholic Doctrine

NEW YORK

, SEPT. 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Critics continue to assail the Catholic Church's refusal to endorse condom use in treating the AIDS problem. …

On May 8, New York Times editorial page commentator Nicholas Kristof accused the Church of having cost hundreds of thousands of lives due to its refusal to endorse condom use. …

More Catholics, fewer infections

Abundant data exist, however, to show the severe limitations of relying on condoms to solve the AIDS problem. A letter from Australian-based bioethicist Amin Abboud, published July 30 by the British Medical Journal, noted that any change in the Catholic Church's position on condoms would be detrimental for

Africa

.

According to Abboud, a statistical analysis of the situation in the continent shows that the greater the percentage of Catholics in any country, the lower the level of HIV. "If the Catholic Church is promoting a message about HIV in those countries," he added, "it seems to be working."

Data from the World Health Organization puts the figure for HIV infection in

Swaziland

 42.6% of the population. Only 5% of the population is Catholic. And in

Botswana

, where 37% of the adult population is HIV infected, only 4% of the population is Catholic. In

Uganda

, however, where 43% of the population is Catholic, the proportion of HIV infected adults is 4%.

Abboud commented that since the death of John Paul II there has been a "concerted campaign ... to attribute responsibility to him for the death of many Africans." But, he continued, "Such accusations must always be supported by solid data. None has been presented so far.""

The article cites other scientists and reports suggesting that the Catholic position just might be the prudential way to fight HIV/AIDS in

Africa

.  For the full article visit Zenit.

Michael S.

Friday, September 16, 2005

China, Religious Prosecution/Persecution, and Asylum

By Michael Scaperlanda

Rick and Rob have written about the Fifth Circuit's Li case, which held that Li would not be persecuted based on his religion if he were returned to China where he would face prosecution if he worshipped in a non-state registered church. 

In the case, the Immigration Judge (IJ) found Li's testimony credible and corroborated by state department findings that the Chinese government allows religious groups to operate only if the group advocates the communist doctrine of socialism.  Based on these facts, the IJ concluded that Li, who worshipped outside of these state parameters, would be subject to persecution if returned to

China

.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) agreed with the IJ that Li's testimony was credible but reversed on the ground that Li faced prosecution and not persecution if returned to

China

.  The Fifth Circuit affirmed the BIA's decision, concluding that the BIA factual determination - that this is a case of prosecution not persecution -  was a reasonable one. 

I don't know how the case was argued, but it seems to me that the court was confused.  There were no factual issues in dispute. The only issue was the legal conclusion to be drawn from the facts: given the facts would Li face persecution (or prosecution) if returned?  And, that question turns on the interpretation of persecution. 

The BIA defines persecution as "harm or suffering that is inflicted upon an individual in order to punish him for possessing a belief or characteristic a persecutor seeks to overcome" in one of five areas ("on account of"), including religion.  Using this definition it seems clear that Li would suffer persecution if returned to

China

.  The Chinese government is interested in channeling all religion through state supervised filters and making these religions tools of the Communist propaganda machine.  It seeks, by inflicting harm and suffering, to overcome the religious beliefs of anyone who wants to worship outside this system.  This seems like a fairly classic case of persecution.

I don’t know how the case was briefed and argued, but it seems to me that the Fifth Circuit was confused not only about what constitutes religion but also what constitutes persecution and what constitutes a legal (rather than factual) question.  As troubling (or perhaps more troubling):  Why would the Department of Homeland Security appeal this case to the BIA?  I can understand them testing Li’s credibility before the IJ.  But, once Li is found credible, what interest does this administration have in seeing people like Li deported?

Michael S. 

Monday, September 12, 2005

Leiter and academic credentials

By Michael Scaperlanda

Alasdair McIntyre (M.A. Manchester) appears unqualified to "do competent, cutting edge work" whether in philosophy or interdisciplinary work in Brian Leiter's world where "the PhD training is essential"?  Thank Rick for alerting us to this discussion.

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