Church, State, and Original Intent, by Donald L. Drakeman

This is a good book.  It describes the evolution of Church-State constitutional doctrine including the debates (or lack of them) during the ratification of the Constitution.  He finds that the "Wall of Separation" theory was not intended by the founders. Rather, the founders had a very accommodationist view.  The Establishment Clause was just that; a prohibition on the government establishing a national church much like the United Kingdom had at the time.  On the flip side, it prohibited the federal government from interfering with the free exercise of religion.  How we got to the place we are in today where the federal government every day interferes with the exercise of religion in prohibiting school prayer, religious displays, and even memorial crosses is the story of this book.  It is a dense read and heavily footnoted.  The author did his homework. For anyone interested in Church-State relations, this book is a must read. 

Pro-life advocates help prevent forced abortion in Austin -- CNA

While it is sometimes hard to describe what the difference is between Catholic lawyers and any other lawyer, you can check out this story where attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), saved a baby's life by obtaining a retraining order preventing a parent from forcing her child to have an abortion.  The Alliance is a Christian organization of lawyers who defend religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family life.  The organization is not Catholic but they are doing God's work and should be applauded. 

As Catholic lawyers we, too, are called to use our talents in God's service.  We can , of course, make our own living practicing law as any other lawyer might but there should always be room in our practice to have God as our client. 

One of the most satisfying things I have done as a lawyer was to do an adoption for a low-income family.  They were hard-working and God-fearing but lacked the money to hire a proper adoption attorney on short notice.  My client's sister was a crack addict and had had a baby.  Child protective services were two-days away from taking the child from the hospital and placing her in foster care where she would have languished.  I knew next to nothing about adoption but asked a lot of people a lot of questions and was able to accomplish the job.  At the final hearing of adoption, the new mother was there with the child who looked beautiful in a fine white dress.  The judge was compassionate and pleased to be a part of the saving of this child. I was near tears as the judge rendered her final order. 

Cynics may say a lot about the practice of law and much of it is true in today's world.  As Catholic lawyers, we are called to be better than that.  And when you are doing God's work, there are rewards greater than those the world can offer.

National Catholic Register’s 2010 COLLEGE GUIDE

The National Catholic Register just released an expanded version of its annual Catholic Identity College List as a convenient, durable, 192-page book titled The National Catholic Register’s 2010 COLLEGE GUIDE.

This is perhaps best addressed to our pre-law followers who are looking for the right school to attend. This book does not specifically cite law schools but does give insight into the Catholic character of the campus of many universities that have law schools.

Our Cherished Right, Our Solemn Duty -- to Vote Pro-Life

The NY Catholic Bishops produced this document setting forth our responsibilities as citizens in a representative democracy and urging us to vote in accordance with a properly formed conscience.  It is, indeed, our duty to vote and to vote with our consciences.  Many people take that to mean that they need not follow all Catholic teaching when pulling exercising our right to vote.  On the contrary, we are called to fully inform our consciences. 

Where we think we disagree with Church teaching we need listen and think again.  Further, many people claim that since neither party supports all Catholic positions we can vote for anyone with whom we generally agree or for the party that our families have supported for generations.  This ignores the fact that some rights are different from others and are distinguished by the principle of subsidiarity.  For example, some might argue that they can vote for a pro-abortion politician because the politician supports other Catholic principles such as helping the poor or opposition to the death penalty.  The principle of subsidiary argues that support for abortion outweighs any other issue because without life all other rights are moot. 

It is not proper for a Catholic to support a pro-abortion politician.  Vote tomorrow but vote as if your soul depended upon it.