Catholic Fire

The Senate Judiciary Committee just approved the Sotomayor nomination to the Supreme Court on a 13-6 vote. Floor vote will be next week.

In the hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor last week, the Republicans did a good job of grilling Sotomayor on abortion and other pro-life issues. But, I can't help but wonder knowing what they do about her now, why are they in such a hurry to vote her into office? Why are they not acknowledging her criminal activity , a nd the contradictions she made in her sworn statements? Devvy Kidd : As the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, proceeded last week, one man could not understand why not one of the seven Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee would question Sotomayor about her criminal activities. It's understandable no Democrat would ask Sotomayor to explain herself since each and every Democrat in the U.S. Senate is so ethically bankrupt, they would seat Satan on the high court if it would further their agenda. Their only concern for a justice on the high...

Lindsey Graham asks Sotomayor about abortion, and the assertion made by a group which Sotomayor was a board member for, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund (PRLDF). The PRLDF had apparently said that denying women taxpayer-funded abortions was a form of slavery, and Graham confronts Sotomayor on this point. For more information: Sonia Sotomayor Continues Ducking Abortion Questions in Wednesday Hearing Sonia Sotomayor Calls Abortion: "Woman's Right to Terminate Her Pregnancy"

...and so is Obama in his choice of Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice The United States Supreme Court reversed Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in the now-famous New Haven firefighters case. Although Judge Sotomayor and two of her colleagues did not even think the case worthy of a published opinion, the Supreme Court said the case presented "two provisions of Title VII to be interpreted and reconciled, with few, if any, precedents in the courts of appeals discussing the issue." Concerned Women for America (CWA) President Wendy Wright said, "This decision sends a disturbing message that Sonia Sotomayor, as a judge, sanctioned discrimination against people because of the color of their skin. This validates concerns that Judge Sotomayor's judicial philosophy reflects her personal bias, as expressed in speeches and the controversial groups to which she has belonged, that people should be discriminated against based on their ethnicity or sex. No one in a burning...

Health care "reform" may have stolen the limelight from the President's first Supreme Court pick, but revelations about Sonia Sotomayor's pro-abortion past may bring new attention to the woman chosen as Justice David Souter's replacement. According to an op-ed in today's Washington Times , Sotomayor has a history of extremism when it comes to i nventing a "right" to abortion in the U.S. Constitution. As the article, "Sotomayor worse than Souter," explains, she served for 12 years on the governing board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), which filed six briefs in abortion cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. Charmaine Yoest details that each one "pushed aggressively for an interpretation of abortion rights that would eliminate most or all state and federal abortion regulations while requiring state and federal funding of abortion." In two of the six, the briefs "took positions more extreme than thos...

Robert Bork on Sonia Sotomayor in an interview with Newsweek: What are your thoughts about Judge Sotomayor's nomination? Bork: I think it was a bad mistake. Her comments about the wise Latina suggest identity-group jurisprudence. She also has a reputation for bullying counsel. And her record is not particularly distinguished. Far from it. And it is unusual to nominate somebody who states flatly that she was the beneficiary of affirmative action. But I can't believe she will be any worse than some recent white male appointees. H/T: Southern Appeal

Guess who's supporting Sotomayor? Communist Party backs confirmation for Supreme Court. The way to end "right-wing" terrorism in the U.S. is to confirm Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice, boycott Fox News and support Barack Obama's plan for nationalizing health care, the Communist Party USA said in an editorial in its newspaper, the People's Weekly World today. Click Here For The Full Story. H/T: CovenantNews.Com Related Posts on Catholic Fire : Fidelis: Sotomayor Must Reject Pro-abortion Legal Activism Sotomayor's Abortion Ties Sotomayor's hearings to begin July 13 Sotomayor's Writings Reveal Her Racist Remarks are Not Isolated Second Senator Says Sotomayor Backs Roe V Wade Pro-abortion Groups Praise Sotomayor's Nomination to the Supreme Court Who is Sonia Sotomayor?

The Washington Times has uncovered information on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s work with the pro-abortion Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund prompting questions about her abortion views, and larger concerns about her judicial philosophy. The Washington Times noted that Sonia Sotomayor held prominent positions with the advocacy group, including serving as chairman of the litigation committee. During her 12-year participation with the fund, the group submitted legal briefs in six separate cases fiercely defending the right to abortion. Read the rest here. Related Post: Sotomayor's Abortion Ties

Do you think this woman is pro-life? Think again. Here is an excerpt from an editorial in today's Washington Times: Americans who think the 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion was wrongly decided -- and think the Supreme Court repeatedly compounded its error by limiting the power of states to regulate abortion counseling and the provision of abortion to minors -- should calmly but actively urge their senators to oppose Judge Sotomayor's nomination. The most basic evidence of the judge's support for Roe comes in the triple combination of White House assurances to that effect, of pro-choice senators declaring after meeting with her that they are sure she agrees with them, and of her entire jurisprudential approach of broadly construing anything characterized as "women's rights." Other evidence is more direct . Consider that from 1980 until October 1992, Judge Sotomayor served on the board -- at times as vice president and at times as chairman of the litiga...

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats, determined to seat Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court quickly, announced mid-July hearings on her nomination Tuesday in a move that surprised and angered Republicans. GOP leaders lashed out after Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, announced that he would convene the hearings on July 13 — considerably earlier than Republicans wanted — saying the date presents a "fair and adequate" schedule in line with the timeline for past Supreme Court nominees. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, called the Democrats' tactics "heavy-handed" and urged them to reconsider the schedule. "Let me be clear. ... Because of what our Democratic colleagues are doing and the way they are doing it, it will now be much more difficult to achieve the kind of comity and cooperation on this and other matters that we need and expect around here," McConnell said. President Barack Obama has...

Via Fox News: Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate on Thursday that the White House never questioned her about cases or issues she might have to decide as a Supreme Court justice, a disclosure gleaned from reams of documents that reveal she has spoken repeatedly about how her gender and Latina heritage affect her judging. The federal appeals court judge divulged new details about her finances and provided three decades of writings, speeches and rulings that give both supporters and critics fresh fodder for the coming debate on her confirmation. They include more instances in which she said she hopes a "wise Latina" would reach a better decision than a man without that experience. The comments in 2002 and 2003 echo a much-criticized remark she made in 2001 at the University of California-Berkeley law school that has prompted a furor among conservatives who say they suggest President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee brings a personal bias to her legal decisions. Obama ...

In an earlier post, I reported that Sonia Sotomayer met with top pro-abortion Senator Diane Feinstein on Tuesday and Feinstein said she felt comfortable with her support of Roe V. Wade. Now pro-abortion Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who met with Sotomayor late Wednesday, is saying the same thing. "I was very pleased that the judge indicated that in the past that she has had a great respect for precedent and that Roe v. Wade is established law," Wyden told reporters, according to a Politico report. Wyden says he asked specifically about the issue of abortion and the controversial Supreme Court case and "she acknowledged the importance of precedent." "She made that very clear," Wyden said. Read more here.

Judiciary committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday told reporters that Judge Sonia Sotomayor had satisfied her concern that the nominee to become the next Supreme Court judge would uphold liberal access to abortion as founded in Roe v. Wade. Following a meeting with Sotomayor, who has spent the last two days at Capitol Hill meeting with senators, the pro-abortion senator admitted that the discussion broached the topic of abortion. Asked to elaborate on that topic, Feinstein praised Sotomayor's "respect for precedent." Read the rest here.

Will Sotomayor rubberstamp Obama's radical abortion agenda? Operation Rescue says, based on Obama's own words, that she would not have been chosen if she did not share his abortion extremism. Contact your senator now and oppose Sotomayor for the Supreme Court! Catholic Troy Newman President of Operation Rescue shares the following: Read more here.

From NCReg: Steven Waldman at Beliefnet reports: “Another White House official elaborated slightly, ‘Judge Sotomayor was raised as a Catholic and attends church for family celebrations and other important events.’” What will her presence as the sixth Catholic (albeit a lapsed one ) mean to the court? Read more here. Previous Posts: Pro-abortion Groups Praise Sotomayor's Nomination to Supreme Court Who is Sonia Sontomayor? Planned Parenthood Endorses Sonia Sotomayor Fr. Pavonne on Judge Sotomayor's Supreme Court Nomination Obama Picks Radical Judge for Supreme Court

As I shared in an earlier post, Sotomayer is receiving the approval of pro-abortion groups. From CNA: Several pro-abortion groups have issued reactions to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. While praising the choice, some groups avoided the abortion issue while one asked for reassurances about the nominee’s commitment to Roe v. Wade. Nancy Northrup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), said Judge Sotomayor’s growing up in a single parent household with limited means should provide her with a perspective “sorely needed today as women’s reproductive rights remain under attack.” Northrup claimed that the pro-abortion rights Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade has been “increasingly in jeopardy” in law and in fact by a “severe shortage of abortion providers,” “onerous” state abortion restrictions, and a lack of funding. These factors, she said, make abortion “virtually unavailable” for many women. “It is critica...

Is She Catholic? Here is Catholic League Presiden t Bill Donohue's reaction Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court: When John Roberts was nominated to be on the high court, Senator Dick Durbin told CNN that he considered it fair game to probe Roberts about his Catholicism. Durbin released a glowing statement yesterday on Sotomayor that never mentioned her religion. When Roberts was questioned by Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Dianne Feinstein, they both asked him whether he agreed with President John F. Kennedy about separation of church and state. Neither even mentioned Sotomayor’s religion in their respective statements yesterday. When Roberts was nominated, Dahlia Lithwick, legal analyst for Slate , said, “I wouldn’t underestimate the influence of his religion”; when Samuel Alito was nominated, Lithwick said that “People are very, very much talking about the fact that Alito would be the fifth Catholic on the Supreme Court if confirmed.” Yesterday, Lithwic...

Cecile Richards , president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, weighs in on Pres. Obama 's selection of Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring SCOTUS Justice David Souter : "This historic nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court sends a strong signal that President Obama understands the importance of ensuring that our Supreme Court justices respect precedent while also protecting our civil liberties. "Judge Sotomayor has vast experience in nearly every aspect of the law, having served as a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator, a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court, and an appellate judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. What our nation needs from our Supreme Court justices is a deep understanding of the law, an appreciation of the impact of the court's decisions on everyday Americans, and a commitment to the protection of our individual liberties. Judge Sotomayor will bring this dedication and commitment with...

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, says he has just one question about Judge Sonia Sotomayor as she is nominated by President Obama for the Supreme Court: "Does justice include the right to tear the arms and legs off of babies, crush their skulls, and treat them as medical waste?" "We all draw the line somewhere. An avowed racist or anti-Semite is not acceptable on the Supreme Court. Why should we give a pass to the violence of abortion?"

President Barack Obama has settled on a new Supreme Court judge to replace retiring Justice David Souter, who had comprised the 5-4 pro-abortion majority on the high court. Obama selected New York federal appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor will likely draw opposition from pro-life groups, although her limited record on abortion may not be enough for strong opposition from Republican lawmakers or to earn her a filibuster in the Senate. Go here for the full story. Image Source There's more .... The initial reaction from pro-life groups on the nomination of appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring pro-abortion Justice David Souter is one of opposition. Although she made the right decision in one abortion case, they say she will likely uphold Roe v. Wade, the 1973 abortion case. The pro-life opposition centers on Sotomayor's comments from 2005 saying the courts are the place "where policy is made." Dr. Charmaine Yoest , President & CEO of Ameri...