Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Church Abuse Scandal: Were Crimes Against Humanity Committed?, Dermot Groome Apr 2019

The Church Abuse Scandal: Were Crimes Against Humanity Committed?, Dermot Groome

Dermot M Groome

Increasingly shocking revelations about sexual abuse by members of Catholic religious congregations and diocesan priests have recently raised the question of whether such widespread abuses constitute crimes against humanity. This paper considers that question in the context of a report issued by the Ryan Commission, an independent quasi-judicial commission that spent 10 years conducting detailed investigations into childcare institutions operated by Catholic religious congregations in Ireland. The Ryan Commission’s findings with respect to both widespread physical and sexual abuse provide a factual basis upon which to consider whether crimes against humanity were in fact committed. Contrasting the intentionality of behind …


The "Common Word," Development, And Human Rights: African And Catholic Perspectives, Joseph M. Isanga Mar 2018

The "Common Word," Development, And Human Rights: African And Catholic Perspectives, Joseph M. Isanga

Joseph Isanga

Africa is the most conflict-ridden region of the world and has been since the end of the Cold War. The Continent's performance in both development and human rights continues to lag behind other regions in the world. Such condi­tions can cause religious differences to escalate into conflict, particularly where religious polarity is susceptible to being exploited. The sheer scale of such con­flicts underscores the urgency and significance of interreligious engagement and dialogue: 'Quantitative and qualitative analysis based on a ... database including 28 violent conflicts show that religion plays a role more frequently than is usually assumed.' This ambivalent character …


Mulieris Dignitatem, Ephesians 5, And Domestic Violence, Joseph M. Isanga Mar 2018

Mulieris Dignitatem, Ephesians 5, And Domestic Violence, Joseph M. Isanga

Joseph Isanga

This Article considers the contribution of Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women to the deeper understanding of women’s dignity as it relates to the process of articulating and rearticulating international women’s rights, with particular attention on domestic violence.2 This letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, brings together some of the Catholic Church’s most important teachings on gender equality. This Article delineates norms articulated in Mulieris Dignitatem that can inform international standards regarding the protection of women from domestic violence. To date there are no legally binding global human rights instruments that explicitly recognize the right to …


Free Exercise For Whom? -- Could The Religious Liberty Principle That Catholics Established In Perez V. Sharp Also Protect Same-Sex Couples' Right To Marry?, Eric Alan Isaacson May 2015

Free Exercise For Whom? -- Could The Religious Liberty Principle That Catholics Established In Perez V. Sharp Also Protect Same-Sex Couples' Right To Marry?, Eric Alan Isaacson

Eric Alan Isaacson

Recent discussions about the threat that same-sex couples hypothetically pose to the religious freedom of Americans whose religions traditions frown upon same-sex unions have largely overlooked the possibility that same-sex couples might have their own religious-liberty interest in being able to marry. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ brought the issue to the fore with an April 2014 lawsuit challenging North Carolina laws barring same-sex marriages. Authored by a lawyer who represented the California Council of Churches and other religions organizations as amici curiae in recent marriage-equality litigation, this article argues that although marriage is a secular …


Talking Points On Report Of The Special Rapporteur On Freedom Of Religion Or Belief, Kristine Kalanges Mar 2015

Talking Points On Report Of The Special Rapporteur On Freedom Of Religion Or Belief, Kristine Kalanges

Kristine Kalanges

To support the Holy See in its work at the United Nations, the Caritas in Veritate Foundation, in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, collaborated in preparing reports on current issues discussed at the United Nations. The Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, a joint venture between the Center for Catholic Studies and the School of Law at the University of St. Thomas, supports this collaboration, helps identify experts to draft these reports and, with the authors' permission, makes them available on its website. In …


An Essay On Christian Constitutionalism: Building In The Divine Style, For The Common Good(S), Patrick Mckinley Brennan Dec 2014

An Essay On Christian Constitutionalism: Building In The Divine Style, For The Common Good(S), Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

Theocracy is a matter of growing global concern and therefore of renewed academic interest. This paper answers the following question: "What would a Christian constitution, in a predominantly Christian nation, look like?" The paper was prepared for presentation as the Clark Lecture at Rutgers School of Law (Camden), where papers answering the same question with respect to Jewish and Islamic constitutions and cultures, respectively, were also presented. A Christian constitution would not have as its aim the comparatively anodyne -- and ultimately futile -- business of introducing more "Judeo-Christian values" into the life of the typical nation state. The paper …


Implementing Religious Law In Modern Nation-States: Reflections From The Catholic Tradition, Patrick Brennan Jan 2014

Implementing Religious Law In Modern Nation-States: Reflections From The Catholic Tradition, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This paper originated as an invited contribution to a symposium on "Implementing Religious Law in Contemporary Nation-States: Definitions and Challenges," sponsored by the Robbins Collection, Berkeley Hall, Boalt Hall, U.C. Berkeley, February 2014. The symposium by design brought papers speaking variously from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim perspectives into conversation. My paper proposes that the Catholic tradition of reflection on human lawmaking, even in modern nation-states, must take as its starting point the God who rules His rational creatures through higher or eternal law, where the rational creature’s participation in that higher law is what is known as the natural law. …


La Iglesia Católica Y La Administración De Justicia Terrenal (Algunas Consideraciones), Horacio M. Lynch May 2013

La Iglesia Católica Y La Administración De Justicia Terrenal (Algunas Consideraciones), Horacio M. Lynch

Horacio M. LYNCH

LA IGLESIA CATÓLICA Y LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE JUSTICIA TERRENAL - Algunas consideraciones (2013) ABSTRACT: Proyecto presentado al Papa Francisco en mayo de 2013 . Se trata de un proyecto que por Horacio M. LYNCH, en línea con sus preocupaciones por la Justicia, presentó al nuevo Pontífice. Motivado por el llamado inicial de Francisco sobre 'la opción preferencial por los pobres' y considerando las fallas que exhibe la administración de justicia en el mundo que, al margen de otras trágicas consecuencias, lastiman más a los pobres, la propuesta sugiere y fundamenta la intervención de la Iglesia en orden a buscar un …


Corporation Sole - Appendix A, Vicenç Feliú Jan 2013

Corporation Sole - Appendix A, Vicenç Feliú

Vicenç Feliú

This work is a revision and update of a study carried out in 1933 by Monsignor Patrick J. Dignan. Dignan’s purpose in his study was to outline the history of how the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) secured laws for the protection of church property in accordance with the hierarchical nature of the Church. The purpose of the present article is to bring up to date Dignan’s work and complete a survey of the law in its present state. As a secondary purpose, the present article also provides legal reference librarians with a unified collection of the laws controlling Church …


Corporation Sole - Appendix B, Vicenç Feliú Jan 2013

Corporation Sole - Appendix B, Vicenç Feliú

Vicenç Feliú

This work is a revision and update of a study carried out in 1933 by Monsignor Patrick J. Dignan. Dignan’s purpose in his study was to outline the history of how the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) secured laws for the protection of church property in accordance with the hierarchical nature of the Church. The purpose of the present article is to bring up to date Dignan’s work and complete a survey of the law in its present state. As a secondary purpose, the present article also provides legal reference librarians with a unified collection of the laws controlling Church …


Issues Of Law And Religion, In The News -- Non-Catholic Teachers Fired For Fertility Treatments, Lorin Geitner Dec 2011

Issues Of Law And Religion, In The News -- Non-Catholic Teachers Fired For Fertility Treatments, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

Two non-Catholic teachers had been fired from Catholic schools, for breaching Catholic doctrine when it comes to acceptable fertility treatments. Has the Catholic Church breached its employment contracts with these teachers? If so, would it still be protected under the ministerial exception?