John Paul ll, John Courtney murray, and the relationship between Civil Law and Moral Law: A Constructive Proposal for Contemporary American pluralism Gregory A. Kalscheur, SJ A September 2003 USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll found that Americans are content to see "In God We Trust on coins and a bible on a teacher's desk - but they object to priests and rabbis advising politicians on abortion or the death penalty. Similar objections greeted the July 2003 Vatican statement opposing proposals to give legal recognition to same-sex unions. Senator John Kerry, for example, contended that the statement inappropriately"crossed the line separating church and state in American politics Reactions like these pose a significant challenge to a church whose social teaching includes a call for the recovery of the basic elements of a vision of the relationship between civil law and moral law. John Paul ll issued that call in his 1995 legal justification for contemporary attacks on human life like abortion and euthanasia 9 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, in response to what he characterized as a trend to demand a "as if they were rights which the state, at least under certain conditions, must acknowledge as belonging to citizens. In the face of this trend, the Pope advocates a jurisprudential vision which includes the"doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law, a doctrine"which is in continuity with the whole tradition of the church. While this vision is"put forward by the church, the Pope notes that it is"also part of the patrimony of the great juridical traditions of humanity. Shortly after Evangelium Vitae appeared, moral theologian Richard McCormick, S J suggested that the encyclical's discussion of the relationship of the moral law to the civil law would remain the most controversial part of the encyclical"after the dust settles. In the U.S. context, the controversial aspect of this discussion stems, in large part, from the plurality of moral views that exist in American society regarding issues Assistant Professor of Law. Boston College Law School, LL. M. 2003. Columbia Law School J.D., 1988, Michigan Law School; S.T. L, 2002, M.Div, 2001, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, BA 1985, Georgetown University. See Larry Copeland, Church-and-State Standoffs Spread over USA, USA TODAY, Sept 30, 2003 at al5. 3 pavid R Guarino, Kerry Raps Pope: Senator Fuming Over Gay Marriage Order,BOSTON HERALD, Aug 2, 2003, at I. The document, Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons, was promulgated on July 31, 2003 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See 33 ORIGINS 177(Aug. 14, 2003) Pope John Paul Il, EVANGELIUM VITAE (71(1995)[hereinafter EVANGELIUM VITAE Id at68 ld at72 Id at 1 Richard A McCormick, S.J., The Gospel of Life, 172 AMERICA 12(April 29, 1995), quoted in Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Whose Virtue? Which Morality? The Limits of Law as a Teacher of virtue-A Comment on Cathleen Kaveny, in CHOOSING LIFE: A DIALOGUE ON EVANGELIUM VITAE 150(K Wildes A Mitchell eds, 1997). hereinafter CHOOSING LIFE1 John Paul II, John Courtney Murray, and the Relationship Between Civil Law and Moral Law: A Constructive Proposal for Contemporary American Pluralism Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.1 A September 2003 USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll found that Americans are content to see “In God We Trust” on coins and a Bible on a teacher’s desk – but they object to priests and rabbis advising politicians on abortion or the death penalty.2 Similar objections greeted the July 2003 Vatican statement opposing proposals to give legal recognition to same-sex unions. Senator John Kerry, for example, contended that the statement inappropriately “crossed the line” separating church and state in American politics.3 Reactions like these pose a significant challenge to a church whose social teaching includes a call for the recovery of “the basic elements of a vision of the relationship between civil law and moral law.”4 John Paul II issued that call in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, in response to what he characterized as a trend to demand a legal justification for contemporary attacks on human life like abortion and euthanasia, “as if they were rights which the state, at least under certain conditions, must acknowledge as belonging to citizens.”5 In the face of this trend, the Pope advocates a jurisprudential vision which includes the “doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law,” a doctrine “which is in continuity with the whole tradition of the church.”6 While this vision is “put forward by the church,” the Pope notes that it is “also part of the patrimony of the great juridical traditions of humanity.”7 Shortly after Evangelium Vitae appeared, moral theologian Richard McCormick, S.J. suggested that the encyclical’s discussion of the relationship of the moral law to the civil law would remain the most controversial part of the encyclical “after the dust settles.”8 In the U.S. context, the controversial aspect of this discussion stems, in large part, from the plurality of moral views that exist in American society regarding issues 1 Assistant Professor of Law, Boston College Law School, LL.M., 2003, Columbia Law School, J.D., 1988, Michigan Law School; S.T.L., 2002, M.Div., 2001, Weston Jesuit School of Theology; B.A., 1985, Georgetown University. 2 See Larry Copeland, Church-and-State Standoffs Spread over USA, USA TODAY, Sept. 30, 2003, at A15. 3 David R. Guarino, Kerry Raps Pope: Senator Fuming Over Gay Marriage Order, BOSTON HERALD, Aug. 2, 2003, at 1. The document, Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons, was promulgated on July 31, 2003 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See 33 ORIGINS 177 (Aug. 14, 2003). 4 Pope John Paul II, EVANGELIUM VITAE ¶ 71 (1995) [hereinafter EVANGELIUM VITAE]. 5 Id. at ¶ 68. 6 Id. at ¶ 72. 7 Id. at ¶ 71. 8 Richard A. McCormick, S.J., The Gospel of Life, 172 AMERICA 12 (April 29, 1995), quoted in Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Whose Virtue? Which Morality? The Limits of Law as a Teacher of Virtue – A Comment on Cathleen Kaveny, in CHOOSING LIFE: A DIALOGUE ON EVANGELIUM VITAE 150 (K. Wildes & A. Mitchell eds., 1997). [hereinafter CHOOSING LIFE]