American Law from a Catholic Perspective

Professor Ronald J. Rychlak is the Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government at the University of Mississippi School of Law. In addition to serving as an advisor to the Holy See’s mission to the United Nations, he has authored or coauthored eight books on law and modern Catholic history.

• Foreword by Gerard V. BradleyPreface Religion and Roman Catholicism in American Legal History Michael AriensThe Ethics of Lawyers and Judges: Perspectives from Catholic Social Teaching Robert A. DestroA Brief History of American Catholic Legal Education: The Arc of an Uncertain Identity John M. Breen and Lee J. StrangPhilosophy of Law Robert P. GeorgeTort Law from a Catholic Perspective Ronald J. RychlakAmerican Corporate Law and Catholic Social Thought John M. CzarnetzkyThe Meaning of Person: A Catholic Legal Perspective Robert John Araujo, SJChurch and State Richard S. MyersFirst Amendment Freedoms and the Right of Privacy: The Necessary Connection Between Rights and Human Dignity That the U.S. Supreme Court Often Fails to Make Stephen M. KrasonEqual Protection, Free Speech, and Religious Worship Timothy J. TraceyUnited States Immigration Law and Policy Through a Catholic Lens Michael A. ScaperlandaHuman Dignity and the Death Penalty: Comparing Catholic Social Teaching and Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence Dorie KleinFidelity and Fairness in Marital Commitments, Covenants, and Contractual Relationships: Mulieris Dignitatem’s Wisdom Kevin H. GovernCatholic Perspectives on Family Law Bill PiattThe Odd Couple: Comparing U.S. Military Law and Roman Catholic Ideology Richard V. MeyerProperty Law D. Brian ScarnecchiaThe Call to Stewardship: A Catholic Perspective on Environmental Responsibility Lucia A. SilecchiaAmerican Bankruptcy Law and Catholic Social Theory John M. CzarnetzkyIntellectual Property Thomas C. BergLabor and Employment Law David L. GregoryInternational Human Rights, Catholic Social Teaching, and American Practice: The Case of Human Rights Treaty Committees William L. SaundersLooking Back, Looking Ahead: A Strategy for the Pro-Life Movement Hadley ArkesIndex

Ronald Rychlack has put together a highly useful series of articles on the relationship between American law and the teachings of the Catholic Church. In twenty-two chapters this volume discusses areas of law from torts (the law of civil wrongs), to marriage, to the relationship between church and state. Chapters also discuss law-related issues, including the failures of Catholic law schools and the legal implications of the Catholic conception of the person. Sometimes the message is one of congruence, sometimes of disappointment and critique, most often a bit of both. The reader generally is given a helpful summary of central issues of law as seen through the lens of Catholic thought…. Richard Myers provides an impressively succinct and accurate summary of the law of church and state in America…. [This is] a highly useful sourcebook, especially for non-specialists seeking greater understanding of American law from a Catholic perspective.