In an appalling display of religious intolerance, several Democratic senators grilled Notre Dame Law School professor and judicial nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, citing her Catholic faith as reason to cast suspicion upon her qualifications to serve on an appeals court.
According to the Daily Caller, Barrett was answering questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday of this week when Senator Diane Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the panel, referenced a 20 year-old law review article written by Barrett in 1998 in which she concluded that a Catholic trial judge who is a conscientious objector to the death penalty should recuse himself if asked to enter an order of execution against a convict.
Barrett, who is the mother of seven children, said that the set of circumstances considered in the article were very narrow and that she has since participated in death penalty cases as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme.
Feinstein remained unimpressed.
“When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein said. “And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country.”
Barrett responded: “It is never appropriate for a judge to apply their personal convictions, whether it derives from faith or personal conviction.”
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois took it a step further by asking Barrett about her use of the term “orthodox Catholic” in her article to the extent that it brands Catholics who do not hold certain positions on capital punishment or abortion as heretical.
Amy Coney Barrett“Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?” Durbin asked.
“If you’re asking whether I’m a faithful Catholic, I am, although I would stress that my own personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear on the discharge of my duties as a judge,” Barrett replied.
GOP Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska came to Barrett's defense by reminding the Committee about the Constitution’s religious test clause which prohibits any kind of religious litmus test against public officials.
“I think some of the questioning that you have been subjected to today seems to miss some of these fundamental constitutional protections we all have,” Sasse said.
Durbin, who is himself a Catholic, later defended himself to the Daily Caller by saying: “I prefaced my remarks by saying that going into a person’s religion is not the right thing to do in every circumstance. But she’s been outspoken. As a law school professor at Notre Dame she has taken on the tough challenge of how a person with strong religious beliefs becomes a judge and looks at American law.”
“So I think she has fashioned herself somewhat of an expert and I didn’t feel uncomfortable asking that question,” Durbin added.
The exchange prompted swift criticism from Christian leaders.
“As Christians, including the 485 self-described ones in the 115th Congress, our light is supposed to shine,” said Family Research Council president Tony Perkins.
“In order to meet this new standard the Left is working hard to impose across all levels of society, every believer would have to hide that light under a bushel. That's a direct attack on religious freedom -- one that no American, least of all a U.S. senator, should tolerate. A person's faith should in no way disqualify them for public service.”
Even after Senator Bernie Sander’s outrageous remarks months ago that Christians are not “who this country is supposed to be about” during hearings on President Trump’s nominee to be Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, a practicing Christian, this modern-day inquisition continues, Perkins says.
“Our Constitution guarantees there will be no religious litmus test. Americans should never be forced to choose between their faith and public service.”
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