Does Justice Antonin Scalia Believe in the Devil? You Bet
WASHINGTON — Justice Antonin Scalia earned his reputation as the Supreme Court’s most outspoken conservative with sharp one-liners in his opinions and sarcastic cracks in the courtroom.
When a government lawyer defending campaign funding laws raised the specter this week of million-dollar checks flowing to congressional campaigns, Scalia was unmoved. “I don’t think $3.5 million is a heck of a lot of money,” he said, since billions are spent on national campaigns.
This week, he also sounded off on the pope, the devil and the Gipper as well homosexuals, as he referred to them, and the “shrilly liberal” news media. In an interview with Jennifer Senior of New York magazine, Scalia also spoke of his favorite opinions, his best sparring partner on the court and his slow success in winning respect for his philosophy of interpreting the Constitution based on its original meaning.
So, as a devoted Roman Catholic, what does he think of the new pope and his call for less focus on divisive issues such as abortion?
“He’s the Vicar of Christ. He’s the chief. I don’t run down the pope,” Scalia said. “I think he’s absolutely right. I think the church ought to be more expansive.”
Has he met gay men and women and “softened” his views on homosexuality?
“I have friends that I know, or very much suspect, are homosexual. Everybody does,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve softened. I don’t know what you mean by softened … I still think it’s Catholic teaching that it’s wrong. OK? But I don’t hate the people that engage in it.”
Does he really believe in the devil?
“Of course! Yeah, he’s a real person. That’s standard Catholic doctrine,” he said. “You are looking at me as though I’m weird. My God! Are you so out of touch with most of America, most of which believes in the devil?” Indeed, polls have consistently shown that 70% to 75% of Americans share Scalia’s belief.
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