A Treacherous Descent: Religious Freedom in America Put to the Test
. . . The case currently before the Supreme Court seems an almost natural result of what I have repeatedly called "the settlement game" that has driven the Catholic scandal. In the Boston College Law Review, Professor John S. Baker summarized the grave implications of this capitulation: "The Church should recognize the New Hampshire settlement for what it potentially is: ‘the camel’s nose inside the tent.’ Over the years, the U.S. Department of Justice has set precedents by bringing and then settling dubious cases against corporations and other business entities. Over time, prosecutors use these unlitigated "precedents" to launch bolder prosecutions, as circumstances permit. This intrusion by a state prosecutor into the jurisdiction of the Church may encourage and be the basis for actions by other state prosecutors." "The decision by the Diocese [of Manchester] to enter into this agreement represents a dangerous capitulation by one diocese that may have created a serious threat to the other dioceses of the United States.” (44 B.C.L.Rev. 1061, July/Sept. 2003). . .
At the Twilight's Last Gleaming: The Fate of Religion in America
. . . It's time for a revolution, and it should be a revolution of real faith in a modern world that values it not. It isn't going to be easy. But before we all sign up for remedial CCD classes, the bad news was offset just a bit by the reality that the United States as a whole flunked the test, and Catholics came out just three percentage points behind the national score of 50% - a solid "F." Other Christian denominations fared just slightly better than Catholics - but still flunked. Jews and Mormons both passed, though just barely, with scores slightly under the atheists. Weighing everything, my own conclusion is that the problem with religion in America isn't religion - it's America. Catholics should remember the value of being counter-cultural. . . .