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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Chief Justice John Roberts votes his Catholic conscience on Health Care bill -- One of six Catholics on court and a true lover of Ireland

Posted on Friday, June 29, 2012 at 08:26 AM
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Chief Justice John Roberts with President Obama

Chief Justice John Roberts has become the hero, or villain, of the hour depending on your politics on the Supreme Court decision.

Roberts voted with the liberal side, throwing the left and right into chaos as they pondered this new reality in a case where most believed a 5-4 majority was dependent on Judge Kennedy not Roberts.

I am not totally surprised. I met Roberts when he came to our inaugural Legal 100 event for Irish America Magazine, held at the Irish Embassy a few years back. I found him far form being the right wing ideologue so many have painted him.

He and his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, are frequent visitors to Ireland where they have a holiday home in the Shannon area.

They are a very pleasant couple, very little airs or graces and clearly not overly impressed with their own importance.

Jane Sullivan is a major powerhouse in her own right, a daughter of Irish immigrants who long before her husband had gained his prominent position had been on of DC’s top attorneys.

Roberts is very fond of Ireland and has taught courses there. Indeed, much of my conversation with him was about finding a thatcher for the roof in the Irish cottage, which was in need of repair.

Roberts is one of six Catholics on the Supreme Court, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alioto and Sonia Sotamayor are the others.

How much his Catholic fate influences him or indeed how it affects all the other Supreme Court Catholics will never be known.

There was a time when the idea of six Catholics on the Supreme Court was a pipe dream and a complete fantasy.

No more. The most important laws in the land are now being shaped by leading Catholics from liberals like Sotamayor to conservatives like Scalia.

It is quite a turn in terms of history and Roberts decision to side with the four liberal justices will be analyzed form pillar to post.

We will never know why but clearly like a good Catholic he voted his conscience on this issue.


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88 comments

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BigDaddy | Jul 27, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT
Elizabeth, shouldn't "[y]our conscience" tell us to model ourselves after Christ and not men who hide the crimes of pedophiles? btw if the representative of Christ on earth can be a former Hitler youth, why can't women use birth control? Really...

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Elizabethbyrn34 | Jul 06, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT
The truth is the US Catholic Bishops have been lobying for Universal Health Care since 1919. Unfortunately any Catholic can not support this effort of Universal Health Care with a clear conscience because of the HHS Mandate. It is against our conscience to use or supply any form of Birthcontrol. As some may see our belief in Birth Control to be outdated saying yes to the mandate does fringe on our Freedom of Religion. We have the god given right to excersise what we are taught at mass throughout the week. If Catholics and the other religions let this HHS Mandate happend it sets a precedant on what the United States of America can do to our Freedom of Religion.

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seanomelb | Jul 03, 2012, 11:18 PM EDT
How does that affect social justice?? or so!

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Scrivner | Jul 03, 2012, 12:05 AM EDT
Seano, you said, "In regards to healthcare Justice Roberts,Obama and the pope have one thing in common.It's called social justice." We could add that they both have lifetime appointments, have lots of power and wear quaint costumes.

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seanomelb | Jul 02, 2012, 09:05 PM EDT
Briano we should sit down to a fish and bread dinner and maybe invite some of our down and out citizens to join us.One ounce of charity is better than a million dollars worth of vitriol.

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BrianO | Jul 02, 2012, 07:32 PM EDT
Oh and I don't lecture people down on their luck, I have had some pleasant and non pleasant chats though.

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BrianO | Jul 02, 2012, 07:24 PM EDT
eiriamach you underestimate your fellow citizen,but to work with your analogies how does one deal with addicts? You certainly don't help by enabling them, give your drunk $5 or $50,00 until they decide to change it will not matter, in AA they say there is nothing worse than a "dry drunk"someone who is managing to not drink, but hating everything about it. There are plenty of good souls who volunteer and work in very testy conditions for the lost in the world, they do not do it for profit or money but because they feel they help. You use these lost and addicted people as a reason to justify control of others liberty and freedom. If I rob you to feed my family I could justify the action by saying my family needed food, but you would still have been robbed. On a less philosophical note when I give the drunk $10 bucks I don't tell him what to do with it. I know he will probably drink it, saves him from having to steal it from someone else.

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eiriamach | Jul 02, 2012, 12:46 PM EDT
BrianO, I could hand $5 to a drunk lying in the gutter, but he'd spend it on more booze. I could give $5 to a senior lying on a park bench with a newspaper over her face. But it wouldn't buy her a motel room for the night, and some drug-addict mugger would probably take it from her. Private charity is a drop in an ocean of need, more so in hard times, and without govt regs, charities help "the worthy poor" and leave others to fend for themselves. But I'm so opposed to living with radical inequality --it undermines my quality of life to see abysmal poverty, to know that great wealth creates a permanent underclass to keep its power-- that I'm willing to support govt programs to rehabilitate, train, and find jobs for drunks, house seniors, and police the parks vs muggers. I'll even pay for some waste IF the programs reduce the problems. You say the drunk's responsible for his own plight and the senior citizen should have saved for retirement? Returning wounded from war, after years unemployed, the drunk slid into alcoholism, and the economic crash wiped out the senior's private retirement investments. Actually, I don't care HOW they fell into poverty; I care that WE not let them die in the gutter or on the park bench. It's not my bleeding heart; it's the hope of the nation's founders, who designed a system to prevent radical inequality and thus ensure the future of democracy. What are YOU willing to do, besides lecturing the poor on individualism being more important than social justice?

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BrianO | Jul 02, 2012, 11:27 AM EDT
red what prevents people from being charitable? I don't believe you will find any passages that state that you must run your wealth through a government entity and trust that said government entity will cure all ills. I suspect that you are searching for reasons to increase your power and control over your neighbor.I prefer individual freedom, I prefer actually helping my neighbor, not stealing from one to give to another, i am sure you are more well versed than I, but I seem to remeber a phrase "thou shalt not steal".

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redhand32 | Jul 02, 2012, 10:04 AM EDT
For me it is fairly simply. In Matthew's Gospel Jesus specifically stated that the 2 most important commandments are 1) Love of God; and 2) Love of Neighbor. He goes on to say these directives supersede the whole Law and the Prophets. What this means for me and perhaps the Chief Justice, is that 30 million Americans today and before, lacking health insurance must tell sick family members that there will be no insulin, no brain surgery, nobody to care for the Child with Down's Syndrome. The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare" is a path to Justice which always trumps charity alone. Last night on Fox "News" Mitch McConnell said "the 30 million [uninsured] are not the problem" except that Jesus, and apparently Roberts agrees, they are !

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BrianO | Jul 02, 2012, 01:09 AM EDT
For as many Koch brothers (with whom I am happy they have done well) there are just as many Soros types (whom are allowed to do what they will with their resources). We have a fundamental difference in that I believe in the individual and the inherent good in people. You argue your point well, and I am glad you are a self made wealthy citizen of "oz", I'm am sure you use your wealth to good use. I choose to collect the crumbs and God willing spread them like the loaves and fishes. Individual freedom allows one to do so. If you are happy allowing others to spend your wealth so be it, I hope they spend it as you would, cheers, Brian

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seanomelb | Jul 01, 2012, 11:59 PM EDT
Brian you to could have a fortunate lifestyle but you allow the right wing oligarchs to oppress the middle class so they can have it all.How does it feel dragging buckets of money along the ground for the likes of the Koch brothers hoping they'll throw you a crumb.I think you people on the right call it "the trickle down affect". But if your happy with that fine.

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BrianO | Jul 01, 2012, 09:15 PM EDT
Seano, why would I weep at others good fortune, someone doing well only makes me feel better, I agree with the lack of validity of wiki as it generally leans left so I thought you would be comfortable with their definition. I will have to look into taxation in Australia.

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seanomelb | Jul 01, 2012, 07:41 PM EDT
Briano I would not use wikipedia as it it full of good and bad info.We have social Justice here in Oz and I don't have to share my home with anybody. But I do enjoy our health system and the safety net for low paid workers $600 per week and according to the OECD we have the best economy in the world and an unacceptable unemployment rate of 5% read and weep Briano.

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BrianO | Jul 01, 2012, 06:13 PM EDT
Sotomayor as qualified as Obama.

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