Ms. Eleanor Smeal, President of an organization styling itself the Feminist Majority manifests her anti-Catholicism and introduces an unprecedented representation test into the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Her anti-Catholicism is well known, including her 1987 arrest while outside the Vatican Embassy in Washington protesting a visitation of the late Pope John Paul II. But now she has developed (sort of) the "Smeal Standard" a proportional representation for Supreme Court Justices.
Upon the seating of Judge Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. the Supreme Court would have five Justices of the Roman Catholic persuasion. In her words, " . . . the majority of the [Supreme] Court would be Roman Catholics, which would underrepresent other religions, not to mention nonbelievers . . ." Huh??????????????
The American public is not 56% Roman Catholic but in the 20 - 25% range. Thus, the Smeal Standard would be violated.
Presumably, however, the Smeal Standard is inapplicable to Justices of the Jewish Faith - or at least not to those Jewish Justices appointed by Democratic Presidents. Two of nine Justices are Jewish but the Jewish population is not 23%, indeed only about 1%. That the five Catholics - as, for that matter, the two Jews - are accomplished and brilliant lawyers and jurists is inapplicable to the Smeal Standard.
The Smeal Standard, if one literally were to apply it, would require Presidents to nominate, and the Senate to confirm, only one Roman Catholic Justice. How the other eight would be delineated the Smeal Standard has yet to say. One can figure that among the eight there would need be an Evangelical, a nominal Protestant and a fallen-away (or nonpracticing) Roman Catholic because those are large groups. That would get us up to four. Who knows beyond that?
To indulge the numerical speculation is to spotlight the utter absurdity and viciousness of the Smeal Standard. Of course, the arithmetic would play both ways. Not only would Catholics be subject to discrimination but Jews even more so. Imagine any intellectual or artistic activity which limited its Jewish components to only about 1% of the participants?
The Smeal Standard carried to its logical mathematical conclusion would come near re-establishing that anti-Semitic discrimination - except maybe it would exempt leftwing "nonbeliever" Jews).
It is a sad day when a leader of a large organization, however leftist the organization may be, advocates any kind of quota system. It also is a sad day upon which any such advocate manifests her contempt for the Constitution of the United States, Article VI of which unambiguously states that ". . . no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Read it Ms. Smeal. That fact that a person despises Roman Catholics for whatever reason has no bearing in the selection process in America. If Ms. Smeal or anyone else wishes to change that, I suggest they get their their own country.
This is not an attack limited to Judge Altio. This is an attack on all Roman Catholics and fith in general. It religious discrimination. It is time some protestants stood up for their Catholic brothers and sisters.
We can not promote a strong stance on marriage and pro-life issues as divided believers. It time to recognize and value the consistent efforts and unwavering dedication of all the faithful. Roman Catholics or otherwise on these issues.
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