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"The Knights of Columbus will vigorously oppose any effort to deny otherwise highly qualified Catholics the opportunity to serve their country on the federal bench because of 'deeply held beliefs' consistent with their Catholic faith." Resolution 254, adopted August 2003
The above is part of a resolution adopted by delegates to the 121st annual Supreme Council meeting of the Knights of Columbus. As such, it is the official statement of the Order on the issue of judicial nominees and directs our activities in this regard.
More than 30 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court, in its infamous Roe v. Wade decision, imposed abortion on demand in all 50 states. In the years since, the federal courts have shaped abortion laws in the most extreme ways possible, completely at odds with the views of the American people. For instance, the overwhelming majority of the American people want to ban partial-birth abortion, but the Supreme Court has declared that even this brutal procedure is protected by the Constitution.
Now, pro-abortion extremists and their supporters in the U.S. Senate are demanding that all nominees to the federal bench pass a pro-abortion litmus test to prove they are fit to serve on the courts. In particular, they have called into question the fitness of Catholic nominees to the federal bench because of their "deeply held beliefs" - beliefs consistent with Church teaching that all human life is sacred and that abortion is therefore a grave evil. Most recently this happened to Alabama Attorney General William Pryor. Abortion advocates in the Senate are blocking his nomination to the federal appeals court for the circuit that includes his state.
This amounts to a de facto religious test for public office, something clearly forbidden by the Constitution. It also implies that Catholics who faithfully adhere to Church teaching on abortion, and perhaps other public moral issues such as "homosexual marriage," are unfit to serve in the federal judiciary.
We must oppose this effort to deny otherwise qualified Catholics the opportunity to serve their country on the federal judiciary because of their "deeply held" Catholic beliefs. We must stop abortion advocates from making unqualified support for abortion on demand the litmus test nominees must pass to serve as federal judges.
Please contact your senators and tell them to oppose blocking President Bush's nominees to the federal court because of their "deeply held beliefs." Let them know that, as a Catholic, you are concerned that judicial nominees who hold the same beliefs as you do are being labeled extremists and unfit to serve their country in public office. Tell your Senator that Catholics and others must not be kept from public office because of the moral tenets of their faith. Ask for a response from your senators addressing these concerns.
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