Monday, October 5, 2020
Letter of Gratitude to Most Rev. Charles E. Blake, Presiding Bishop, Church of God in Christ, Rev. Eugene F. Rivers, and others
October 5, 2020
Dear Bishop Blake, Pastor Rivers, and other esteemed clergy and Christian leaders:
We are Catholic scholars who write as your brothers and sisters in the Christian faith to express our gratitude for your bold and compelling defense of Amy Coney Barrett against the bigotry directed toward her because of her Catholic faith, and her family’s membership in an ecumenical Christian charismatic community: https://110c6a4e-4c9f-4c15-bc98-ca4791e6331d.filesusr.com/ugd/f15948_f95ac6406c23439aa5470941a6029767.pdf
The moral witness of the historic Black churches, notably including the Pentecostal-Charismatic and Full Gospel churches you lead and serve, is always powerful. Like the grace of Almighty God, which is bestowed abundantly, your witness is generously given on behalf of any and every person who is subjected to or threatened with injustice. You understand, as Dr. King understood, that “a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Bigotry has raised its ugly head against Judge Barrett because she is the “wrong kind of Catholic”—a faithful Catholic. Yet as disturbing as it is to see the revival of anti-Catholic prejudice, it is even more heartening and inspiring to witness the prophetic stand you have taken against it. It is most impressive that you did not wait to be asked to speak out, but rather acted on your own initiative the moment you saw a faithful Catholic woman being threatened with discrimination and exclusion based on her faith.
Reflecting on the example you have set for us and for all men and women of goodwill, we recall Our Lord’s teaching: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall have their fill.”
With the highest respect and esteem,
Robert P. George
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence
Princeton University
Mary Ann Glendon
Learned Hand Professor of Law emerita
Harvard University
Hadley Arkes
Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions emeritus
Amherst College
Founder and Director, James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights & the American Founding
J. Joel Alicea
Assistant Professor of Law
The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
Rev. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P.
Professor of Biology and of Theology, Providence College
Visiting Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines
Francis J. Beckwith
Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies
Baylor University
Rev. Stephen L. Brock
Professor of Medieval Philosophy
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
Gerard V. Bradley
Professor of Law
University of Notre Dame
John M. Breen
Georgia Reithal Professor of Law
Loyola University Chicago
Christian Brugger
Professor of Moral Theology
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
Teresa S. Collett
Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law (MN)
Patrick J. Deneen
Professor of Political Science
David A. Potenziani Memorial College Chair of Constitutional Studies
University of Notre Dame
Eduardo Echeverria
Graduate School of Theology
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Kevin L. Flannery, S.J.
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy
Pontifical Gregorian University
David F. Forte
Professor of Law
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Cleveland State University
Matthew Franck
Associate Director
James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions
Lecturer in Politics
Princeton University
Rick Garnett
Professor of Law
University of Notre Dame
Mary Rice Hasson
Director, Catholic Women’s Forum
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Mary Healy
Professor of Scripture
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Carson Holloway
Professor of Political Science
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Christopher Kaczor
Professor of Philosophy
Loyola Marymount University
Patrick Lee
John N. and Jamie D. McAleer Professor of Bioethics
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Matthew J. Levering
James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology
Mundelein Seminary
Ralph Martin
Director of Graduate Theology Programs in the New Evangelization
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Monica Migliorino Miller
Director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society
Teacher- Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Michael P. Moreland
University Professor of Law and Religion
Director, Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion, and Public Policy
Villanova University
Melissa Moschella
Associate Professor of Philosophy
The Catholic University of America
Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Tocqueville Associate Professor of Religion & Public Life
Department of Political Science
University of Notre Dame
Jeffrey A. Pojanowski
Professor of Law
University of Notre Dame
Dermot Quinn
Professor of History
Seton Hall University
Mark Regnerus
Professor of Sociology
University of Texas at Austin
Senior Fellow, Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture
Michael A. Reynolds
Associate Professor, Near Eastern Studies
Director, Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
Princeton University
Ronald J. Rychlak
Distinguished Professor of Law
Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law & Government
University of Mississippi, School of Law
William L. Saunders
Fellow and Director of the Program in Human Rights, Institute for Human Ecology;
Professor and Director of the Center for Human Rights, School of Arts & Sciences; and
Co-Director, Center for Religious Liberty, Columbus School of Law,
Catholic University of America
Michael A. Scaperlanda
Gene and Elaine Edwards Family Chair in Law emeritus
University of Oklahoma
Gregory Sisk
Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota)
Carter Snead
Professor of Law
Director, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture
University of Notre Dame
R.J. Snell
Director of Academic Programs
The Witherspoon Institute
Christopher Tollefsen
College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
University of South Carolina
George Weigel
Distinguished Senior Fellow and Chair of Catholic Studies
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Edward Whelan
President
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Bradford Wilson
Executive Director
James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions
Princeton University
(Affiliations are for identification purposes.)
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2020/10/letter-of-gratitude-to-most-rev-charles-e-blake-presiding-bishop-church-of-god-in-christ-and-others.html