Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, Have you reached a Verdict?

While driving to a local shrine of the much-venerated Sam Walton, I was listening to some sort of talk-radio station. The particular program was a call-in type of affair, and I was only half-listening.

In between parking, and telling my two canine companions to settle down, I heard a caller saying, "...but even though Bush was a Methodist, we all saw him cozying up to the Pope; like he had no problem with him at all."

This peaked my interest, so I sat and listened a few more minutes:

"Announcer: So, what exactly are you saying? What is it you're concerned about?
Caller: Well, now we have Obama, and while we evangelicals don't agree with him on many issues, he's a protestant, and we would expect him to keep his distance from Rome. But we notice that he's appointed one Catholic after another, and now he's appointed a Catholic to the Supreme Court. This is very troubling, really. We're very concerned that the Pope's influence in this country is just going to keep growing..."

At this point, I laughed, and went in to buy dog biscuits, and fill a prescription.

I don't think the caller has anything to be worried about. So far there's no definitive word as to whether or not Ms. Sotomayor is Catholic. I find this "lack of evidence" interesting. It sort of reminds me of the old evangelistic one-liner "If you were arrested and charged with the crime of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" In terms of Sotomayor's religious affiliation, at least as of early this evening, "the jury is still out."

Even if she is a Catholic, those who cringe in fear of the "Tiara and Crossed Keys" need not be too concerned. There are 5 Catholics sitting on the Supreme Court now -- and so far, the forces of secular humanism have had very little to fear from the High Bench.

Judging from comments she has made, Ms. Sotomayor is a confirmed relativist; a non-believer in the existence of absolute truth. She also believes that latina women are naturally endowed with a certain superiority that uniquely suits them to the making of wise judicial rulings. Imagine if John Roberts had said that he felt that way about white men! That nomination would have been flushed on the spot.

While no verdict can yet be rendered on the question of Judge Sotomayor's catholicity, there is ample evidence that she is a liberal, judicial activist, who believes in using judicial authority to legislate. This, not her religious affiliation--or lack thereof, is the problem and danger inherent in her nomination to the Supreme Court.

The United States is no more likely to "cozy up to the Pope" with Judge Sotomayor on the high court, that it was with John Kennedy as president.