Washington D.C., Jul 10, 2018 / 04:36 pm (CNA).- Many pro-life and Catholic groups reacted with optimism about President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“President Trump has made another outstanding choice in nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, keeping his promise to nominate only originalist judges to the Court,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. She described Kavanaugh as “an experienced, principled jurist,” who has a “strong record of protecting life and constitutional rights.”
Catholic Medical Association President Peter T. Morrow called the justice “solid” on issues related to the protection of life. Morrow said that that President Trump “continue(d) to uphold his promise to nominate only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.”
Americans United for Life President Catherine Glenn Foster said that “Judge Kavanaugh will be an originalist Justice, committed to the text of the Constitution and to the rule of law, including legal protections for human life.”
Foster said that this nomination is a “seminal moment” for the country, and is a “crucial chance to shift the Court” to one that does not regard the judicial activism of the Roe and Casey decisions as their “legacy.”
March for Life’s Jeanne Mancini praised Kavanaugh as a “man of faith” and a “family man” who is “exceptionally qualified” for the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh “will no doubt serve as a fair, independent judge who will remain faithful to the Constitution,” said Mancini.
She noted that of the 20 percent of voters who cited the Supreme Court vacancy as their deciding factor for their vote, 57 percent of those went for Trump. Mancini believes that Trump satisfied those voters with Kavanaugh, “another Gorsuch-like nominee.”
At least some pro-life and religious liberty advocates, though, have raised concerns about Kavanaugh.
National Review Institute senior fellow David French wrote in the Washington Post that while the nominee is a very good choice, Kavanaugh’s record on some religious liberty issues raises questions.
“In Priests for Life v. Department of Health and Human Services, Kavanaugh wrongly held that the government had a ‘compelling interest’ in ‘facilitating access to contraceptives’ for employees of the specific religious plaintiffs in the case,” he wrote.
Kavanaugh’s decision was incorrect, French said, because “religious employers have broad latitude to limit their employees’ conduct, and the government has little legal authority to meddle in the organization’s religious mission.”
French also lamented that Judge Amy Barrett, who had been a potential nominee, was not chosen to fill Kennedy’s Supreme Court seat.
Nominating Barrett, French said, “represented a chance for an important cultural moment — an opportunity for the best of young professional Christians to face the worst of progressive antireligion bias and prevail on the largest possible stage.”
“It’s not just that Barrett is qualified; she is,” he wrote. “It’s that conservative Christians see her as qualified and a person they felt like they know.”
Those in favor of expanded abortion rights expressed more serious concern with Kavanaugh’s nomination.
EMILY’s List, which seeks to elect pro-choice women, criticized Kavanaugh for his past decision blocking an undocumented minor in federal custody from receiving an abortion.
“Trump promised to only nominate anti-choice Supreme Court justices,” said EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock in an email, “and now he’s kept that promise.”
New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo, himself Catholic, tweeted that he was concerned that Kavanaugh is “an extreme conservative who would overturn Roe v. Wade the first chance he got.” For these reasons, Cuomo said that Kavanaugh “cannot be allowed to join the Supreme Court.”
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Cuomo is a living mockery of Catholic faith.
Chris…you are correct with your Cuomo comment…and the same is true for all those purported Catholics in the Senate who defend the Culture of Death at every turn.
There will be the Last Judgement for each of them…at which time…they will have NO vote…!! We need to pray for these sorry creatures.
Should Cuomo really be identified as Catholic? I suspect he has been excommunicated, just as Durban has been. Couldn’t a reporter find that out?
that would be nice to know..!!
Andrew Cuomo is what many of us refer to as ‘CINO’ – Catholic In Name Only. Some of the others in this category are Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Tim Kaine and Susan Collins.
They ‘earned’ this designation by refusing to defend the principles of the Faith, so – given that they call themselves Catholic and are prominent people and as such could be thought of by the public as examples of Catholics – when they refuse to defend the Faith they should be called out.
The specific issues here are abortion and same-sex marriage.
I am glad President Trump nominated Kavanaugh but he Trump is such a mess. When his wife had a baby he was with a porn star and a playboy model. I was raised with different values than that. He lies and exaggerates all the time. He bullies people and does not live by the golden rule. He lacks compassion for the poor and is belligerent. I look at the thoughts of Pope Francis and admire them.
Add to the list of CINOs, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. I cringe every time the media refer to him as a “Catholic”.
There is apprehension expressed regarding Kavanaugh’s legal opinions including French’s objection in the Federalist. I read the issue raised regarding his opinion in favor of the State’s compelling interest regarding provision of contraceptives. My sense is he was reading the juridical right of the State to claim compelling interest rather than an expressing his personal view. Stare decisis was confirmed by previous opinion that perceived interest by the State even if expressed as a perception. What it shows is that Kavanaugh respects Constitutional law and is not an activist. In the same vein if a case were presented to the Court regarding Roe v Wade I’m confidant he will seriously consider the original juridical baseless adjudication in favor. On this basis alone he must be confirmed.
Is it time for publicly announced excommunications?
Look how this nominee has been reduced to a single issue litmus test. It isn’t the ideology of the cast of judges, it’s the moral quality of the one doing the nominating. Judge Kavanaugh has said Roe v. Wade is “settled law”. My concern is his writings that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. With Trump fighting tooth and nail with the Mueller Russian investigation he may very well be eligible for a criminal obstruction of justice decision. Just look how he treats Putin while trashing our allies.
“Look how this nominee has been reduced to a single issue litmus test.”
Correct. The pro-abort crowd is incredibly single-minded. But, then, abortion is their sacrament.
“It isn’t the ideology of the cast of judges, it’s the moral quality of the one doing the nominating.”
Actually, it’s neither.
Kavanaugh certainly is not as “ideal” as Garret. But he fills the bill in most other respects. As far as his nominator is concerned, I cannot see where the ad hominem attacks here have any relevance. Just imagine what we would be facing if Hillary were doing the nominating.
As Barry Goldwater once famously said: “Grow up, conservatives.” I think we can now echo that with: “Grow up, Catholics.” We have a new crucial vote on SCOTUS who is avowedly Catholic, with a long record to suggest that he won’t go off into “meaning of life and liberty” riffs like his predecessor.
How do I remove Fr Peter Morellof from my Name when posting? Two spellings show up when I prompt. Sometimes Morellof inadvertently is shown on my post.
My guess is that you must have posted at least once with the misspelled name, and now your browser remembers it. Just a guess.