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Natural
Law and Legislative Duties:
Implications of Holding Catholic Politicians to a Higher Standard
Nora O'Callaghan
Ave Maria School of Law
Abstract:
If
we accept that the natural law should be reflected in the
civil law, it follows that legislators must have duties to
conform their legislative proposals to the natural law.
While most questions concerning the common good admit of a
large variety of concrete applications of the natural law,
there are certain “unjust laws” that are ruled out of bounds
by the natural law because they are inherently incompatible
with a proper understanding of the human person and the common
good.
In
the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, a controversy arose regarding
attempts by Catholic Bishops to influence Catholic politicians
to defend human life against unjust abortion laws. A
few Bishops told Catholic politicians that they were no longer
eligible to receive Holy Communion because of their persistent,
vocal, and continuing support of expansive abortion rights.
My
paper will discuss guidance from St. Thomas, and more recent
Church teaching, on the natural law duties of elected public
officials. Next it will examine arguments in favor and
opposed to the use of Church disciplinary procedures against
Catholic politicians who violate those duties in serious ways.
Finally, it will set forth the outcome of the 2004 election
controversy, and possible future directions in this debate.
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