Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett, a federal judge for U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, has been nominated by President Trump for the Supreme Court.  She’s 48 years old, so she would be making decisions for the Supreme Court for a long time.

An article in Raw Story stated this: “People of Praise are quite controversial within Catholicism. Founded in 1971, the group incorporates elements of fundamentalist Pentecostal Protestantism (such as speaking in tongues) and is considered a cult in mainstream Catholicism.

Its practices include requiring members to swear an oath of loyalty to the group and teaching that wives must be submissive to their husbands, and in the past, People of Praise called its female leaders “handmaidens”—which is downright chilling if one is familiar with Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the 1990 film and 2017/2018 television series it has inspired.

People of Praise embrace a highly patriarchal ideology, believing that while women can have some leadership positions, they ultimately must submit to male authority.”

It seems dangerous to have a Supreme Court Justice who has sworn loyalty to what many consider to be a cult.

It seems dangerous to have a Supreme Court Justice who could ultimately submit to her husband (or the males of People of Praise or males on the Supreme Court).

According to an article in Newsweek,

“Members of People of Praise also make a lifelong vow of loyalty in a ceremony…”

“Adrian J. Reimers, one of the founding members of People of Praise, later wrote a book criticizing the group, called Not Reliable Guides. In it, he explained the ‘sacrifice represented by making the covenant of the People of Praise is taken seriously.’

One ‘lays down his life’ according to the requirements of the community, he wrote, by ‘faithfully attending men’s and women’s groups, submitting to one’s head willingly, performing four hours of service to the community every week, contributing 5-13 percent of one’s gross income to the community, and so on.’

The ‘subordinate role of women to men is a fundamental cultural premise’ for the group, he wrote.”

“Coral Anika Theill, a former member of a branch of the group in Corvallis, Oregon, told Newsweek that women are expected to be ‘absolutely obedient’ to their husbands and the men in the group.

Theill refers to the group as a “charismatic dictatorship” and a “cult.”

“There was a lot of abuse and shaming, shunning, intimidation, bullying going on,” she said. “You did not say no, or there was retaliation.”

A 2017 article in the New York Times pointed out that “Current and former members of People of Praise said that Ms. Barrett and her husband, who have seven children, both belong to the group, and that their fathers have served as leaders.”

And “The group believes in prophecy, speaking in tongues and divine healings, staples of Pentecostal churches that some Catholics have also adopted in a movement called charismatic renewal.  The People of Praise was an early leader in the flowering of that movement in North America.  It is ecumenical, but about 90 percent of its members are Catholic.”

And, it’s important to note in this 2017 article:  “Every nominee for the federal bench is required to fill out a detailed questionnaire for the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Ms. Barrett did not list any religious affiliations on her questionnaire, though many nominees have in the past.”

Will Amy Coney Barrett withhold information about being a member of People of Praise again?

Where will Barrett’s loyalties ultimately lie?  With the U.S. Constitution, or with the People of Praise?