WASHINGTON — During the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation
hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 5, U.S. Appeals Court Judge
Brett Kavanaugh said his experience serving the homeless with Catholic
Charities and tutoring at Washington Jesuit Academy has influenced him as a
judge because of the importance of "standing in the shoes of others."
Kavanaugh noted that he regularly serves meals with Catholic
Charities' St. Maria's Meals program in Washington and he said talking to the
people whom they serve helps him to understand the situation that they are in.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh is on Capitol Hill for his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. CNS
"We are all God's children. We are all equal," he said.
"People have gotten there because maybe they have a mental illness; maybe
they had a terrible family situation; maybe they lost a job and had no family.
But every person you serve a meal to is just as good as me or better."
Kavanaugh noted Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of
Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Washington, as an important influence
in his life who has helped him to think about others. He has known Msgr. Enzler
since Kavanaugh was 9 years old and an altar boy at Little Flower Parish in
Bethesda. The priest was in the audience at the White House when President
Donald Trump announced that Kavanaugh would be the next Supreme Court nominee
July 9.
The nominee is a graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in
North Bethesda, Md. The court's newest justice, Neil Gorsuch, also graduated
from that school. Kavanaugh and his wife Ashley and their daughters Margaret
and Liza are members of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in
Washington, where the judge coaches a CYO girls' basketball team. He also
belongs to the John Carroll Society, a group of Catholic lawyers and
professionals in the Archdiocese of Washington.
As another influence of his volunteering, Kavanaugh cited the
Bible passage from Matthew 25, where Jesus said: "For I was hungry, and
you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to
drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I
was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me."
Kavanaugh said he "tries to follow the lesson of serving the
least fortunate among us" as outlined in those six examples.
He also tutors at Washington Jesuit Academy in Washington, which
is a tuition-free Catholic middle school where low-income students receive
three meals and do their homework before returning home from school.
"You can't change everything at once, but just being able to
change one meal, one day…or (have) one kid who remembers one thing in a
tutoring session…you can make a big difference in people's lives," he
said.
To describe the way that those experiences have influenced him as
a judge, he borrowed the words of a lesson about "To Kill a Mockingbird"
by his sixth-grade English and religion teacher, Chris Abell, at Mater Dei
School in Bethesda. While they were learning about the book, Kavanaugh said his
teacher emphasized the theme of "standing in the shoes of others."
"We could all be that homeless person, we could all be that
kid who needs a more structured educational environment," said Kavanaugh.
He still has his sixth-grade copy of To
Kill a Mockingbird sitting in his chambers.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, asked him if it is fair to
say that as a judge, he should be sitting in the shoes of the law, rather than
in the shoes of someone he is sympathetic to.
"You're in the shoes of the law, but with awareness of the
impact of your decisions," Kavanaugh responded. "You can't be unaware
when you write an opinion how is it going to affect people."
Kavanaugh is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit, and if he is confirmed, he will join four
other Catholic judges on the bench and retain the court's Catholic majority
after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Sankowski is a reporter for the Catholic Standard,
archdiocesan newspaper of Washington.