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Scalia: “I don’t think there’s any such thing as a Catholic judge”

Antonin_Scalia_Official_SCOTUS_Portrait

SCOTUS/Public Domain

Deacon Greg Kandra - published on 02/14/16

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The late Supreme Court justice in 2010 gave a stemwinder of a speech in Maryland, in which he called on Christians to be “fools for Christ’s sake.” He also gave an interview to The Catholic Reviews George Matysek, Jr. and shared some additional thoughts on his role on the court:

While he may take his personal faith seriously, Scalia told The Catholic Review he doesn’t allow it to influence his work on the high court. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as a Catholic judge,” Scalia said in an interview. “There are good judges and bad judges. The only article in faith that plays any part in my judging is the commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Lie.’ ” Scalia said it isn’t his job to make policy or law, but to “say only what the law provides.” “If I genuinely thought the Constitution guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion, I would be on the other way,” said Scalia, who has held that abortion is not guaranteed in the Constitution. “It would do nothing with my religion. It has to do with my being a lawyer.” Scalia never thought he would see a time when there were six Catholic justices on the high court. “But, as I say, it doesn’t make any difference,” he asserted. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a Catholic justice. There’s a justice who happens to be Catholic and there are some Catholic justices who have been on the other side of the abortion thing. (Former Justice) Bill Brennan was the initiator of the whole thing.” Asked whether he and the other Catholic justices ever discuss or share their faith with one another, Scalia smiled wryly. “No,” he said, “We don’t have a Bible study.”

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