Amy Coney Barrett’s sister defends Supreme Court pick; says her Catholic faith should be a ‘non-issue’
Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett's sister recently defended Barrett, arguing that her religious beliefs should be a “non-issue.”
Barrett has garnered much attention for her devout Catholic beliefs, with some expressing concern that these views will heavily influence her decisions if confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Yes, Amy is a person of faith,” Megan Edwards told Martha MacCallum on the Fox News program “The Story” on Monday. “She prays every day, she and her family go to church together. But I think it’s also important to realize that people all across America also are people of faith and also go to church.”
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“To me, I think this is a non-issue. She’s been very clear that she will be able to do her job and will apply the Constitution how it is and not impart her own opinions and her own beliefs.”
Edwards also defended the Catholic group People of Praise, an organization Barrett has been involved in.
“They just are there to be with one another and to support each other through the difficult life events, a loss of a job, death in the family and illness, and also to share in the joyful things,” she explained.
“In my experience, there have been numerous times, even as an adult, that the members of the People of Praise, who I will call my friends even, have been at my side during joyful moments in my life and also difficult times.”
Edwards went on to say that members of the group were “regular people who have regular jobs” who simply “want to have a deeper faith.”
The Associated Press recently ran a story about how People of Praise teaches that men are the “head” of the household and wives should submit to their husbands.
The story garnered a great deal of criticism on social media, with many commenters arguing, among other things, that the AP was failing to understand commonly held religious beliefs.
Barrett was nominated on Saturday by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy created on the Supreme Court by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Barrett’s religious beliefs were the subject of controversy in 2017 when she was nominated and eventually confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
During a hearing, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California told Barret that, regarding the nominee’s Catholic beliefs, “the dogma lives loudly within you.”
"Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling that — you know, dogma and law are two different things. And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different," stated Feinstein at the time.
"I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that's of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country."
Denouncing the heavy fire Barrett has been under for her faith, Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council, argued that people are opposed to her not "because she is serious about her religion" but because "she is not serious about their religion" — the religion of progressivism.
"They aren’t actually concerned about a theocracy; they’re concerned about losing power. They aren’t concerned about someone legislating morality; they’re concerned they’ll lose the ability to legislate their morality from the Supreme Court," Backholm said.
