WASHINGTON — The Washington-based Judicial Crisis Network Sept.
15 launched a 10-day digital ad campaign objecting to a U.S. Democratic senator
grilling a Catholic judicial nominee Sept. 6 about what impact her faith would
have on her interpretation of the law.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California,
spurred outrage about possible religious tests for judicial appointees with the
questions she put to Amy Coney Barrett, nominee for a seat on the 7th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals. The Judicial Crisis Network, a group that describes
itself as dedicated to strengthening liberty and justice in America, called
Feinstein's grilling of the nominee "disgusting and repulsive."
The
ad, under the headline "Catholics Need Not Apply," is appearing on
YouTube and Twitter and also can be viewed at
https://judicialnetwork.com/multimedia. "This is going to be known as
'Feinstein's Folly.' Her line of questioning reeked of 'No Catholics Need
Apply,' while ignoring Professor Barrett's stellar qualifications, experience
and fierce commitment to defending the Constitution," said Carrie
Severino, the network's chief counsel and policy director.
"Feinstein was
fundamentally at odds with our constitutional commitment to religious freedom,
not to mention politically tone-deaf," she said in a statement. "More
than one out of every five Americans is Catholic, and that includes a growing
Latino population. A nominee's faith should have nothing to do with his or her
qualifications to be a federal judge. Period."
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2017