There Are Fundamental Questions Amy Coney Barrett Needs to Answer by Charles Pierce

It is not “anti-Catholic” in any way to wonder if her religious affiliation is part of the basis through which the judge decides cases in secular law.
It is not “anti-Catholic” in any way to wonder if Barrett’s religious affiliation is part of the basis through which she decides cases in secular law. She should be asked about that, and she should be pressed if she tap-dances around it, and she should be ready and willing to answer straight on it anyway. For example, I’m anxious to hear her explanation for this passage from a 2006 commencement address that she gave to the graduating class at Notre Dame law school.

So what then, does it mean to be a different kind of lawyer? The implications of our Catholic mission for your legal education are many, and don’t worry—I’m not going to explore them all in this short speech. I’m just going to identify one way in which I hope that you, as graduates of Notre Dame, will fulfill the promise of being a different kind of lawyer. And that is this: that you will always keep in mind that your legal career is but a means to an end, and as Father Jenkins told you this morning, that end is building the kingdom of God. You know the same law, are charged with maintaining the same ethical standards, and will be entering the same kinds of legal jobs as your peers across the country. But if you can keep in mind that your fundamental purpose in life is not to be a lawyer, but to know, love, and serve God, you truly will be a different kind of lawyer.