Mirror of Justice

RGCS Debate with Chiara Cordelli and Richard Garnett

Professor Richard Garnett participated in a debate, Must Churches be Democratic?, with Chiara Cordelli. This debate was sponsored by The Research Group on Constitutional Studies at McGill University.

https://churchstate.nd.edu/news-events/news/rgcs-debate-with-chiara-cordelli-and-richard-garnett/

"The Church and China: Can Catholics Serve Two Masters?"

Ed Condon has this piece, at The Pillar, which includes some (sadly) typically obtuse comments by Cardinal Parolin.  To be sure, it is not only the PRC, among political authorities, that purports to demand of Catholics that they be "good citizens" first.  Some might say that the PRC and its apologists simply "say the quiet part out loud." And, it is far from obvious what the all-things-considered best way is for the Church to deal with the PRC, and best care for Catholics in China and bear witness to the faith there. I feel confident, though, that Parolin's inclinations and ruminations are not a reliable guide to finding it. 

Call for Papers: Governments’ Legal Responses and Judicial Reactions during a Global Pandemic: Litigating Religious Freedom in the Time of COVID-1

More info, from the Journal on Church and State, is available here.

A strong stand for academic freedom by Yale legal scholars

Kudos to the following distinguished legal scholars, all present or emeritus Sterling Professors of Law at Yale, who have taken a firm stand against American Bar Association proposed rules that would undermine law schools' institutional autonomy and, even more importantly, core principles of academic freeom:

Bruce A. Ackerman, John H. Langbein, Akhil R. Amar, Jerry L. Mashaw, Mirjan R. Damaska Robert C. Post, Owen M. Fiss, Roberta Romano, Anthony T. Kronman, and Alan Schwartz

Among the proposals to which they strongly object is the idea of requiring "diversity, equity, and inclusion training." This "training" is--or quickly degenerates into--indoctrination, and indoctrination has no place in serious academic institutions of any type.

Read about another strong--and courageous--stand against such indoctrination here:

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/08/19/guided_by_faith_divinity_student_fought_his_antiracist_princeton_seminary_-_and_won_790007.html

A Symposium on Bachiochi's "Rights of Women"

At the Law and Liberty blog, there is a symposium dedicated to our own Erika Bachiochi's new book, The Rights of Women:  Reclaiming a Lost Vision.  Check it out!

"What Is Religious Freedom?"

Here is a short piece I did for the USCCB's "First Freedom" blog.  It is meant for parishes, high schools, etc., so please feel free to share!  A bit:

Religious freedom plays a significant role in the American imagination.  When asked what it means to be an American, many Americans will refer to freedom and equality, which speaks to our intuitive sense of the equal dignity of all people.  But how we think of religious freedom can differ from one person to the next.  The ideal of religious freedom may be summarized as “separation of church and state” and “the right to follow my conscience.”  Many Americans will often think primarily in terms of human rights.  Religion – belief and practice, ritual and worship, and perhaps expression and profession – is considered an object of human rights laws, that is, as something that the laws protect. The leading human rights instruments confirm this entirely reasonable, if not quite complete, way of thinking. For example: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaims, and political communities should “strive ... to promote respect for [this right]” and “to secure [its] universal and effective recognition and observance.” Similarly, the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) declares that its signatories resolve to “secure [this right] to everyone within their jurisdiction.” The Constitution of the United States frames the issue in terms of constraints on government.  The government may not prevent the free exercise of religion, nor may it establish a religion.  In other words, religious liberty is often framed negatively, as “freedom from,” rather than as something more aspirational, as “freedom for.”

But what, exactly, is this religious liberty that needs safeguarding?  Despite general agreement that religious liberty is protected by the Constitution, the extent of those protections, and what constitutes true religious liberty at its core, is disputed. . . .  

Catholic University Law School is hiring

I am pleased to share that The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, is seeking to hire at least four faculty members. 

We are seeking two tenure track and one tenure eligible faculty member  for positions to begin in Spring 2022 or Fall 2022. These positions are for candidates interested in participating in the school’s new Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, more fully described at https://communications.catholic.edu/news/2021/04/law-originalism-gift.html.

We are also seeking an entry-level candidate to serve as a member of the law school’s faculty while also contributing to the University’s Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies (the “Institute”), described at https://ilais.catholic.edu/en/ilais-mission.

We seek candidates who can teach, in addition to the natural areas of fit with the Project (such as Constitutional and Administrative Law) or the Institute, the following subjects:  Property, Family Law, and Trusts and Estates; Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence; Corporate and Securities Law; and Contracts and Commercial Law.

Candidates must be committed to teaching, producing outstanding scholarship, engaging as active members of the Law School and University communities, and making a significant contribution to the mission of the University and Catholic Law.  Candidates must possess a J.D. or equivalent, superior academic credentials, and relevant professional experience, such as teaching, legal practice, or judicial clerkships. 

 For details on how to apply, please review the full opportunity descriptions at https://provost.catholic.edu/_media/faculty-position-ads/law-tt-pco-and-cit,-2021,-rev.pdf;  at https://provost.catholic.edu/_media/faculty-position-ads/law-tenured-2021,rev.pdf; and  at https://provost.catholic.edu/_media/faculty-position-ads/law-tt-ilias-2021,-rev.pdf

As a Catholic institution, our mission commits us to respecting the dignity of each human person, and to welcoming scholars who will bring a diversity of “backgrounds, religious affiliations, viewpoints, and contributions” to the law school’s vibrant intellectual community. We recognize the importance of diversity in our faculty and encourage applications from those with diverse backgrounds.

Under Caesar's Sword Course: Christians in Response to Persecution

The McGrath Institute for Church Life is offering an online course on how Christians around the world suffer persecution at the hands of both state and non-state actors.

More information can be found here: https://mcgrath.nd.edu/online-courses/step/courses/under-caesars-sword-christians-in-response-to-persecution/