Pundit Class Says Roberts' Faith Open for Questioning

An email from Culture and Cosmos:

The chorus of pundits who wish to deny John Roberts a seat on the Supreme Court because of his religious beliefs grows louder. We report today on several noted columnists who are calling for Roberts to be questioned on his Catholic faith. All concerned citizens must vigorously resist this kind of appalling behavior.

Spread the word.

Yours sincerely,
Austin Ruse
President

=======================================

Pundit Class Says Roberts' Faith Open for Questioning


A number of prominent pundits have written columns saying it is entirely legitimate to question Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts about whether his Catholic faith would interfere with his ability to serve on the bench. And in a recent interview former New York Governor Mario Cuomo went so far as to say that Congress should get assurance from Roberts that he will uphold the Constitution even if the pope tells him to do otherwise.

Writing for the online magazine Slate.com, Christopher Hitchens says that Catholic judges and the effect their beliefs would have on the way they carry out their duties are deserving of special scrutiny. "Why should this question be asked only of Catholics? Well, that's easy. The Roman Catholic Church claims the right to legislate on morals for all its members and to excommunicate them if they don't conform. The church is also a foreign state, which has diplomatic relations with Washington." Hitchens also takes a swing at the Catholic Justice Antonin Scalia. Noting a speech Scalia gave in Baton Rouge in which he called on audience members to be "fools for Christ" Hitchens remarks, "Whether for 'Christ' or not, Scalia is certainly a fool. He should have fewer allies and emulators on the court, not more."

Self-identified Catholic E.J. Dionne wrote a column for the Washington Post titled "Why It's Right to Ask About Robert's Faith." In it Dionne asks, "If Roberts's religious views are important to him, why should they be off-limits to honest discussion?" Writing for beliefnet.com Amy Sullivan accuses Republicans of hypocrisy saying they were the ones to make faith an issue. "It was conservatives who spent much of last year arguing that John Kerry’s religious beliefs were insufficiently reflected in his position on abortion," she writes though conservatives never argued that Kerry's faith would prevent him from carrying out the duties of the presidency.

One of the more outspoken proponents of the notion that Roberts' faith should be a potential target of criticism is Cuomo. Speaking this Sunday on Meet the Press, he said, "Everybody takes an oath to support the Constitution, including especially judges. So why not ask them: Will you, Judge, apply a religious test to the Constitution? Will you start by saying, 'I'm not going to support the Constitution if my pope tells me not to'?" Cuomo reiterated the point that assurances should be obtained from Roberts that he was not taking directions from the Pope. "Here, ironically, if you want to say religious test, the question for Judge Roberts is, Are you going to impose a religious test on the Constitution? Are you going to say that because the pope says this or the Church says that, you will do it no matter what? You will overturn Roe against Wade."

Conservative constitutionalists and Catholics are increasingly concerned at what appears to be a growing religious test for the Supreme Court. They are reminded of what happened a few months ago in Europe where noted Italian statesman Rocco Buttiglione was denied a seat on the European Commission because of his Catholic beliefs. As one observer put it, "Let them question him on his political positions, or on his judicial philosophy, fine, but asking him about possible religious underpinnings of these positions is establishing an unconstitutional religious test for public office. It is particularly appalling that this is coming from supposed Catholics like Cuomo."

Copyright 2005---Culture of Life Foundation.
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

Culture of Life Foundation
1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 289-2500
Fax: (202) 289-2502
E-mail: clf@culture-of-life.org