June 25: The Catholic School

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is June 25th, and our story is The Catholic Court. Usually one, maybe two, no more. From 1836, when President Andrew Jackson appointed Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to the U.S. Supreme Court, until late in the Reagan administration, that was the unspoken rule about how many Catholics could serve on the court at the same time.

In fact, only twice between the country's founding in 1986 was there ever more than a single Catholic on the country's highest bench. Justices Edward White and Joseph McKenna served concurrently between 1898 and 1921, as did McKenna and Justice Pierce Buckler between 1923 and 1925. More often, Catholic justices tended to follow each other in steady succession. As one Catholic stepped down from the court, another was appointed. Justice Frank Murphy succeeded Butler in 1940. Justice Sherman Minton followed Murphy in 1949, and Justice William J.

Brennan Jr. replaced Minton in 1956. For good reason. Court watchers and legal scholars came to speak of the Catholic seat on the court, a seat given almost as a courtesy to the nation's single largest religious group. That began to change, however, during the Reagan administration, when two Catholics, Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, joined Brennan, bringing the court's Catholic members to three.

Brennan retired in 1990, but the following year, another Catholic, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined the court. Then, in 2005 and 2006, in rapid succession, Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito came on board. Three years later, a sixth Catholic, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined the court. Born on June 25, 1954, Sotomayor was not only the first female Catholic justice, but also the first Latina justice.

For observers of both court and culture, her appointment in May 2009 exemplified just how much had changed since the days when Catholics were granted only a token seat, and then, usually, begrudgingly, with anti-Catholic smears invariably surfacing. Scalia died in 2016, but in October 2020, Catholic Judge Amy Coney Barrett joined the Supreme Court, bringing the number of Catholics on the High Court back to six.

Indeed, the Catholic seat is now the Catholic Court. The evolution of Catholics on the Supreme Court reflects the broader journey of inclusion and merit-based opportunity. From token representation to substantive influence, faith and competence combined to shape a judiciary that mirrors society's diversity. Reflect on ways you can contribute your skills and voice to serve justice or represent your community.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, June 26th, for another story of faith and courage in America.