Word: church
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...doubt Scalia would insist that since abortion is not in the constitutional text, disavowing an abortion right would square Scalia and the other Catholic jurists with the Church. But not so fast; Scalia says abortion can be legislatively permitted or not as the people choose, and he will enforce whatever is democratically chosen. That's hardly what the Church is hoping from Catholic jurists, is it? (Read "Obama Tries to Renew Faith in a Faith-Based Office...
...rulings like Roe v. Wade, would be unconstitutional? If a Catholic judge invalidated laws restricting abortion in conformity with the constitutional precedent, he or she would presumably be cooperating with the evil of abortion. On the other hand, if a Catholic judge ignored the precedent - perhaps seeking to avoid Church sanction, such as the threats of communion denial aimed at pro-choice Catholic lawmakers by some bishops in the past election - there would likely be increasing claims of religious bias. (See pictures of Barack Obama behind the scenes on Inauguration...
...when discussing the death penalty and his faith, Scalia expressed relief that the Church had yet to find the death penalty categorically immoral since that was neither his personal conclusion nor the Originalist position on the Constitution. "I like my job, and would rather not resign," he wrote in 2002. "[I]n my view, the choice for the judge who believes the death penalty to be immoral is resignation, rather than simply ignoring duly enacted, constitutional laws and sabotaging death penalty cases. He has, after all, taken an oath to apply the laws and has been given no power...
Might there be a different, less intrusive course for the Church? Yes: clarify the Pelosi statement by continuing to observe the difference between a jurist and a legislator. That may be awkward from the standpoint of the unyielding lines of moral rather than political principle, but it has the merit of following the instruction of St. Thomas Aquinas, who argued that "all should have some part in the government; for in this way peace is preserved among the people, and all are pleased with such a disposition of things and maintain...
...pictures of a drive-in church...