Ten Commandments:
Court rulings show complexity of issue

		Eye on the  Capitol  John Huebscher

Last month the Supreme Court issued two rulings on whether displaying the Ten Commandments on government property violates the U.S. Constitution. The rulings could best be described as a "split decision."

In a case from Kentucky the Court ruled 5-4 that a display in the county courthouse is unconstitutional. The other ruling, also on a 5-4 vote, held that displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol is permissible.

This "case-by-case" approach to displays that have religious significance may be frustrating to some. But it may also be the best way to address the complexity of the issues involved.

Founding fathers

For the most part religious men themselves, the framers of the Constitution wanted to avoid the religious wars that plagued the Europe of their ancestors. Rejecting the idea of an established "state church" they opted instead for a promise that all would be free to practice religion but the state itself would be neutral on disputes between religions.

For the Founders, the practice of placing the Ten Commandments on a building may have represented a neutral reference to America's primarily Judeo-Christian heritage. They may have felt the same way about the practice of reading the King James Bible, acceptable to most Protestants, in public schools.

The founders could not have imagined that Catholics would become the nation's largest religious group or that Jews and Moslems would outnumber Episcopalians. But they may have understood that in time these newcomers might feel free to question "traditional arrangements."

That happened in our state. It took Catholics in Wisconsin 50 years after statehood and 100 years after the Constitutional convention to question the legality of compulsory Bible reading in public schools. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court vindicated their challenge in 1890, finding the practice unconstitutional. Wisconsin and religion have both survived that decision.

May invite challenges

One hundred fifteen years later, other Americans questioned the placement of the Ten Commandments in government buildings. While reading the Bible did not survive judicial scrutiny, some public displays of the Ten Commandments have.

How can this be?

The justices seemed to believe that, like the reading of one version of the Bible in a public school, placing a specific version of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse, in the context of "affirming traditional values" conveys an endorsement of one form of religion. A reference to the Ten Commandments alongside other lawgivers or documents depicts them as one of several important sources of law in history.

The ruling in favor of the display in Texas suggest that the justices on the Supreme Court are uneasy with the idea that any reference to the Judeo-Christian contribution to law does not belong in the public square. Doing so might invite other challenges, not only to displays of the Ten Commandments, but also to the names of communities like Los Angeles, Sacramento, Corpus Christi, San Diego, or in Wisconsin communities such as St. Francis, St. Nazianz, or Mt. Horeb.

Freedom of religion

Was the Supreme Court being thoughtful or inconsistent? I vote for thoughtful.

A case-by-case approach makes sense. It seems reasonable to look at the timing of the decision to erect a symbol or statue, the context in which it is placed, and the extent to which it commemorates the background of the people who placed it, as opposed to an endorsement of a specific religion over others.

For the future, let's hope that the Founders' decision that all religions may be freely exercised but none established over others remains the law of the land. Let's hope we can also make room for publicly funded reminders of the religious and moral traditions that inspired those who came before us.

John Huebscher is executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.

Select friends: Who help us grow spiritually

		Grand Mom  Audrey  Mettel Fixmer

I'm sick of fashion models who get slim, slimmer, and downright skinny. It's discouraging, to say the least, to watch our own figures go the other way as we age.

I've decided that it is far healthier to focus, not on our body's growth, but on our souls. I like to select friends who can help me grow spiritually. Thank God that I don't have to look far to find them.

My own parish is rich with role models, men and women whose love of God is gushing out all over.

Inspiring friendships

There's Nancy and Betty, who attended all three Masses each weekend for the past six months while we were without a church and "roaming" to foreign places. As liturgy committee, they saw to it that the altars were set up, the vestments and chalices were in the right place, and the folks arriving knew where to go.

There's Steve and Ron, who gave an entire year of their lives to work full time for our parish, freely sharing their skills and experience in construction. Such great role models were an inspiration to the rest of us. No wonder that dozens of other parishioners were motivated to fill in every crack of time they could find pitching in.

I learned from these friends that their rewards are abundant. All expressed how deeply they feel the love of community, and how grateful they are for their rich experience of building together. Friendships were forged and support strengthened.

God is everywhere

Let it never be said, however, that spiritual growth comes only from my Catholic friends. I have recently made a new friend of someone I knew only casually for the past 30 years.

Martha Ajango was someone I knew from working in Community Theatre and Woman's Club together. Although I had always admired her theatrical skills, it was not until she asked me to edit a book she was writing that I became aware of the depth of her spiritual life.

Messages Everywhere is the title of Martha's book, which I found to be delightful reading as well as a spiritual inspiration. The book is made up of little vignettes, ranging from a half page to a full page in length.

It is meant to be picked up and read as a light snack instead of a hearty meal, when one can snatch just a few moments in a busy day, or kept at the bedside for a final moment of inspiration before ending our day.

The title is apropos, since that's exactly what Martha does. She finds messages from God everywhere. She found them cleaning blackboards when she was teaching at our parish school. She found one in some alyssum growing between the cracks in the sidewalk, in bags at the airport, and in squirrels leaping from branch to branch and invading her birdfeeder.

These are all common, everyday experiences, but to Martha's perceptive eye, they take on a spiritual glow.

What possible message could she find in cleaning blackboards? Martha noticed that merely erasing the board didn't really wipe out every trace of the images. It was only when she washed them on Fridays that everything was removed.

It occurred to her that this was like the difference between our forgiveness and God's. When someone hurts us and then apologizes, we can say we forgive them, but a small blight in our relationship always remains, just like the faint images that remain on the board after erasing.

But God's forgiveness is like the Friday washing. Every trace of the offence is gone. She concludes, "I am so grateful that we have a Friday kind of God."

Always searching

Martha, who taught in our school for 31 years, is not Catholic, but her spiritual journey has taken her through four Protestant churches. "I have always been a searcher," she says.

She traces her own spiritual growth primarily to a group she joined in 1988 on her "Walk to Emmaus."

The name refers to the Gospel story of the apostles who met the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. Martha's group has met weekly since that initial retreat, always with the mission to share where they met Jesus during the past week.

By learning where Martha meets Jesus, I am more attuned to finding Him in my own life. Instead of measuring my expanding waistline, I think I'll measure spiritual growth for a change. Inner beauty is still attainable at my age.

Martha's book will be available in mid-August by sending a check of $15 plus $1.50 shipping to Ajango, P.O. Box 144, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538.

"Grandmom" likes hearing from other senior citizens who enjoy aging -- contact information.

Judge Roberts: Join battle for his confirmation

	Guest commentary  Fr. Frank Pavone

President Bush nominated Judge John Roberts to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Judge Roberts is highly qualified and has proven legal abilities.

Now, his nomination will go to the Senate while he will be questioned about his judicial philosophy and credentials. We can also expect, unfortunately, that many senators will seek to derail his nomination with vicious personal attacks against his faith, his belief in strict interpretation of the constitution, and any rulings that he has made that do not fit their public policy ends.

They will question him about abortion and Roe vs. Wade, as if that decision cannot be reversed and belongs to some kind of sacred, unchangeable dogma. In regard to this, of course, it is important to keep in mind that the current chief justice of the United States is one of the original dissenters in Roe vs. Wade. If he can hold that position, so can an associate justice of the court. A belief that Roe should be overturned should certainly not be considered an obstacle to serving on the court.

Expect some senators to attack Judge Roberts for his religious and personal beliefs. Many have argued in the past that those with strong religious beliefs do not belong on the Supreme Court. This would effectively eliminate every faithful member of any faith from service on the highest court in the land.

	Related article: • Editorial -- Judge Roberts: Should be proud of his faith

To achieve their goals, some may choose to filibuster Judge Roberts. Doing so would set a dangerous precedent. It would be the first time in history that a minority of senators prevents the full senate from fulfilling its duty to provide advice and consent on a Supreme Court nominee. This would create a constitutional crisis, as a minority of senators would unilaterally amend the Constitution without going through the necessary process to do so.

We can fight those who would engage in these bigoted and unfair tactics, but we need your help to do it!

Please take a few minutes to contact your senators and tell them you expect a fair up-or-down vote on the floor of the senate. Tell them, furthermore, that any religious or moral beliefs that Judge Roberts expresses should not disqualify him from confirmation. Simply call 202-224-3121 and ask for your senator. You will need to make two calls, one for each senator.

And please keep up to date on this judicial confirmations battle by going to our Web site, www.priestsforlife.org and clicking on the link for "Judges." Be sure to join our prayer campaign for the Supreme Court at www.PrayerCampaign.org

Remember, this will be a battle. Pro-abortion advocates have suffered many losses in the legislatures and many losses at the voting booth. The courts are their only real stronghold of political power and they don't want to lose that!

You and I need to urge our senators to do the right thing. This is what we voted for in November's election - a positive change on the Supreme Court! Let's keep the momentum going!

Fr. Frank Pavone is national director of Priests for Life.