like abortion, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem-cell research, and the legal recognition of homosexual unions. Moreover, the often"muddled"understanding of the relationship that should exist between law and morality exacerbates the confusion stemming from the plurality of moral views. Given this social reality, it is difficult to articulate the precise shape and scope of the " necessary conformity" between civil law and moral law that the Pope desires to promote The Pope's extensive jurisprudential reflections in Evangelium Vitae prompt the question I consider in this presentation: How should we understand the doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law in a religiously pluralistic democratic relationship between moral values and civil law that is grounded in the tradition of tif o society like that of the United States today? My objective is to articulate a vision of th church's social thought and that can allow the church to contribute credibly and effectively to public discourse regarding the law and public policy in our religiously pluralistic democratic society I will begin by outlining the understanding of the relationship between law and morality John Paul Il articulates in Evangelium Vitae. I will then turn to the understanding of the differentiated relationship of law and morality developed in the work of theologian John Courtney Murray, S.J. It is appropriate to ground contemporary analysis of this issue in the pioneering work of Murray, since, in the words of Cardinal Bernardin, "In]o single figure in American history has had greater impact on how Catholics conceive of the relationship between religion and politics. Finally supplementing Murray's views with insights gleaned from a number of contemporary voices in Catholic social thought, I will suggest six axioms that ought to inform our vision of the appropriate relationship between religious values, the objective moral order, and civil law and public discourse in the context of twenty-first century American pluralism I. The jurisprudence of Evangelium vitae The Pope's jurisprudential reflections begin with a catalogue of tendencies that underlie contemporary claims to legal justification for attacks on human life like abortion and euthanasia. John Paul ii believes these tendencies are rooted in the ethical relativism pervading much of contemporary culture. The first of these tendencies is a claim he characterizes as"a proportionalist approach, an approach of "sheer calculation According to this approach, the life of an unborn or seriously disabled person is only a relative good. This good must be balanced against other goods, and only the moral decision maker in a particular concrete situation can correctly evaluate the goods at stake [O]nly that person would be able to decide on the morality of his choice. The state See Quinn, supra note 8, at 152 (calling for" a more complete exposition of the muddled relation between law and morality, and suggesting the social theory of John Courtney Murray as an appropriate starting point) Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Religion and Politics: Stating the Principles and sharpening the Issues(Woodstock Forum Address-Georgetown University, Oct 25, 1984), in A MORAL VISION FOR AMERICA 38(John P. Langan, S.J., ed, 1998) I See EVANGELIUM VITAE, supra note 4,1702 like abortion, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem-cell research, and the legal recognition of homosexual unions. Moreover, the often “muddled” understanding of the relationship that should exist between law and morality exacerbates the confusion stemming from the plurality of moral views. 9 Given this social reality, it is difficult to articulate the precise shape and scope of the “necessary conformity” between civil law and moral law that the Pope desires to promote. The Pope’s extensive jurisprudential reflections in Evangelium Vitae prompt the question I consider in this presentation: How should we understand the doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law in a religiously pluralistic democratic society like that of the United States today? My objective is to articulate a vision of the relationship between moral values and civil law that is grounded in the tradition of the church’s social thought and that can allow the church to contribute credibly and effectively to public discourse regarding the law and public policy in our religiously pluralistic democratic society. I will begin by outlining the understanding of the relationship between law and morality John Paul II articulates in Evangelium Vitae. I will then turn to the understanding of the differentiated relationship of law and morality developed in the work of theologian John Courtney Murray, S.J. It is appropriate to ground contemporary analysis of this issue in the pioneering work of Murray, since, in the words of Cardinal Bernardin, “[n]o single figure in American history has had greater impact on how Catholics conceive of the relationship between religion and politics.”10 Finally, supplementing Murray’s views with insights gleaned from a number of contemporary voices in Catholic social thought, I will suggest six axioms that ought to inform our vision of the appropriate relationship between religious values, the objective moral order, and civil law and public discourse in the context of twenty-first century American pluralism. I. The Jurisprudence of Evangelium Vitae The Pope’s jurisprudential reflections begin with a catalogue of tendencies that underlie contemporary claims to legal justification for attacks on human life like abortion and euthanasia. John Paul II believes these tendencies are rooted in the ethical relativism pervading much of contemporary culture.11 The first of these tendencies is a claim he characterizes as “a proportionalist approach,” an approach of “sheer calculation.” According to this approach, the life of an unborn or seriously disabled person is only a relative good. This good must be balanced against other goods, and only the moral decision maker in a particular concrete situation can correctly evaluate the goods at stake. “[O]nly that person would be able to decide on the morality of his choice. The state, 9 See Quinn, supra note 8, at 152 (calling for “a more complete exposition of the muddled relation between law and morality,” and suggesting the social theory of John Courtney Murray as an appropriate starting point). 10 Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Religion and Politics: Stating the Principles and Sharpening the Issues (Woodstock Forum Address – Georgetown University, Oct. 25, 1984), in A MORAL VISION FOR AMERICA 38 (John P. Langan, S.J., ed., 1998). 11 See EVANGELIUM VITAE, supra note 4, ¶ 70