UC Berkeley professor of law John Yoo weighs in on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
The mainstream media and many analysts on the left have welcomed attacks on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s spiritual convictions. Judge Barrett’s faith is something to applaud, not attack.As a young Catholic lady, I am inspired by, not fearful of, how faith can animate my dedication to God and Country alike.Judge Barrett is an inspiration to me and certainly to many others like me.I have known Judge Barrett my entire life. My mother clerked with her on the Supreme Court in 1998, and given that the Barretts moved to South Bend in 2002, they have actually been a continuous part of our lives.As a child, the Barretts ‘home was one of my favorite places. We invested numerous suppers, holidays and weekday
afternoons there.The basement would be crowded with children playing board video games or hide-and-seek, the yard loaded with kids swinging on the playset.I concerned value the hospitality and faithful friendship Judge Barrett and her family always supplied to my own. And, for many years Judge Barrett became far more
than just another moms and dad, she ended up being a coach and friend.When, in 2017, Judge Barrett was nominated to the Seventh Circuit, I saw as she handled a hard and often awful confirmation hearing with amazing grace. Her children sat behind
her as their mother was, as she constantly is, a model of poise and strength.She talked to self-confidence and conviction to the Senate Judiciary Committee that her faith need not preclude her from serving her country. Then a 16-year-old, those words rang in my heart as I battled with whether I could
do the same: practice my faith while operating in and for the world.For Judge Barrett, naturally, the answer is always yes. One not only can be a public servant while living her faith: one’s faith can call her to serve.In the Catholic tradition, we speak of vocation: how God has actually called us to serve. Judge Barrett has an occupation to be an other half and mom, a law teacher and a jurist. Now, as a junior in college, she models for me how to believe about the ways I may be contacted us to serve.But do we not all seek our calling, even if we do not utilize that language?” This is my dream task;”” I was suggested to do this;”” I’m making a distinction. “All of us seek a clear purpose or calling to serve: an incentive for the work that we do.Why, then, do opponents of Judge Barrett firmly insist that her faith and convictions is a threat to our American organizations? Far from it: her faith drives her commitment to service of those institutions. This 2017 image provided by the University of Notre Dame Law School in South Bend,
Ind., shows Judge Amy Coney Barrett.( University of Notre Dame Law School via AP).
As a life-long pal and coach, Judge Barrett continues to show to me that a person can both live her faith and serve her country.She influences me to dedicate my life to similarly serve others, not impeded however rather animated by my faith.As I have actually found out from
Judge Barrett, understanding my occupation is what permits me to react consistently and do my work diligently.There is a location for this commitment, even when encouraged by faith, in our American institutions. There must be. To pretend otherwise is an insult to the countless people of all faiths who are directed both by love of our country and Constitution and
by love of God.After twenty years of understanding and gaining from Judge Barrett, I understand her faith is not
cause for issue, but rather one for motivation. It has definitely inspired me.
