随着美国法官艾米·科尼·巴雷特的名字出现在可能替换的列表为已故的法官鲁斯·巴德·金斯伯格在最高法院，她与印第安纳州一个小而有魅力的基督教团体的长期联系引起了新的关注——部分原因是该团体历史上使用“女仆”一词来描述其女性成员。
普世组织“赞美之人”一直在努力避免与玛格丽特·阿特伍德(Margaret Atwood)的书和电视改编本《使女的故事》(The婢女的故事)中虚构的压迫性宗教秩序相提并论。但对宗教自由基金会的宪法律师安德鲁·塞德尔来说，与阿特伍德的反乌托邦叙事进行象征性的比较会引发真正重要的问题。
塞德尔说:“人们对艾米·科尼·巴雷特法官与《赞美之人》的关系以及她过去对信仰和法律之间冲突的评论深感关切。”。“不仅她与这个社区的联系和她以前的作品值得一问，参议员们也有义务向宪法提出这些问题。”
巴雷特是一个虔诚的天主教徒，也是保守派基督徒的最爱。在2017年芝加哥第七巡回上诉法院提名的确认听证会上，她面临着对她过去作品和公众评论的审查。但这一次，是她与《赞美之人》的联系在她可能被提名高等法院之前占据了头条新闻。
塞缪尔·科伦/纽约时报
2019年11月15日，艾米·科尼·巴雷特法官出席在华盛顿举行的联邦主义者协会2019年全国律师大会。
描述了该组在其网站上作为一个“有魅力的基督教团体”，它通常指的是从五旬节派的实践中借用的信徒，比如说方言，预言和祈祷神的医治。该组织鼓励其1，700多名成员与社区缔结契约，并为年轻成员指派一名个人导师，称为“负责人”或“领导者”。直到最近，扮演这些角色的女性还被称为“女仆”
共和党参议员本·萨斯(Ben Sasse)周二发布了一份新闻稿，称对该组织的批评只不过是反映“反天主教偏见”的“丑陋诽谤”。萨斯称该小组“基本上是一项圣经研究”
副总统迈克·彭斯周三告诉美国广播公司新闻，他认为巴雷特强烈的宗教价值观是一种资产，而不是一种负担，并表示反对意见是一些人对她的天主教信仰怀有“不容忍”的证据
罗伯特·布凯蒂/美联社
副总统迈克·彭斯在竞选集会后接受电视采访，星期二，2020年9月22日，在新罕布什尔州吉尔福德的兰肯尼亚市政机场
“巴雷特法官和目前正在考虑的其他法官，我们完全有信心是总统从本届政府早期就任命的那种法学家，”彭斯说，他在成为副总统之前是印第安纳州的州长。“是男人和女人致力于维护宪法，应用成文法律，并以与已故伟大的大法官安东宁·斯卡利亚一致的方式服务。”
48岁的巴雷特没有公开谈论她在《赞美之人》中的参与，巴雷特的一名助手也没有评论她在该组织中的现状。但一名前成员向美国广播公司新闻证实，她曾是成员，公开可用的文件支持这一说法——尽管尚不清楚她今天是否仍在参与。该组织的一名发言人表示，“是否公开披露他们在我们社区的参与，由成员自行决定。”
至少从2006年开始，巴雷特和她的家人偶尔会在该组织的季刊《藤蔓与树枝》中被提及。在后来从网上撤下的一期中，巴雷特的照片作为一篇关于该组织妇女领袖会议的文章的一部分出现。2010年至2012年间，成员更新中包含了三次提及她孩子出生的内容。在2017年的国会问卷调查中，巴雷特将自己列为该组织教育项目三一学校的受托人。
藤蔓和树枝
艾米·科尼·巴雷特(Amy Coney Barrett)法官的一张照片正在考虑被提名为最高法院法官，这张照片出现在2006年5月的一期《藤蔓与树枝》(Vine & Branches)上，这是《赞美之人》的季刊，旁边还有一篇关于妇女领导会议的文章。
鲍勃·伯恩是《赞美之人》的前成员，他也证实了巴雷特与该组织的联系。他说，他在2008年以“完全友好”的方式离开了该组织，当时他在附近一个镇上担任执事的工作占用了他太多的时间和注意力，无法在社区中保持活跃。
伯恩说，他不太了解巴雷特，但基于有限的互动，他发现她“相当令人印象深刻”，是“一个非常好的女人”。他将她在社区中的角色描述为其他任何成员，经常承担日常任务并参与该团体主办的活动。
“我记得有一天我在(她的教区)，”伯恩说，“那天(巴雷特)的任务是带孩子们出去，在大人参加弥撒的时候和他们一起上圣经课。我说，‘哇，哇’——这位女士，她是一名法律教师，她只是在做一名母亲。相当厉害。”
盟约和法律的问题
对该组织的详细审查主要涉及到一些报道，报道称该组织鼓励成员与社区缔结契约，并称之为“我们选择的对彼此的爱和服务的承诺”。该组织声称，它没有强迫成员加入该公约，并明确表示，这“不是一个誓言或誓言”。
宗教自由基金会的律师塞德尔说，任何对该组织忠诚的声明——以及与该组织成员可能达成的协议——都有可能取代她维护宪法的誓言。
“盟约与所有法官为维护作为国家最高法律的宪法而宣誓的誓言是如何相互作用的?我们需要知道这一点，”他说。
埃文·武奇/美联社
2020年9月23日，华盛顿，唐纳德·特朗普总统在白宫东厅举行的纪念猪湾老兵的活动中发表讲话。
当《纽约时报》在2017年巴雷特被提升到联邦上诉法院之前首次报道巴雷特与该组织的关系时，宗教组织反对这些问题。天主教联盟发布了一份声明，称该报告是一种“天主教诱饵策略”，以质疑巴雷特作为联邦法官的健康状况。
除了特定的群体，巴雷特的天主教信仰在她上诉席位的确认听证会上成为一个问题。
“不管什么宗教，都有自己的教条。该委员会的资深民主党人加州参议员黛安娜·范斯坦说。“我认为在你的情况下，教授……教条在你的内心深处很响亮，这是令人担忧的。”
范斯坦的评论招致了宗教自由团体的指责。她的一句话，“教条在你体内大声传播”，从此出现在t恤和杯子上，在网上出售。
康奈尔大学的法学教授纳尔逊·特贝(Nelson Tebbe)表示，范斯坦的提问路线走得太远，但表明了参议员在询问司法提名人涉及信仰而非世俗法律的合法问题时面临的困境。
“最棘手的问题是，参议员能问些什么?Tebbe说:“因为对潜在法官遵守法律的意愿的合法调查与宗教偏见的表达之间的界限——很难划清。”
马特·卡舍尔/由圣母大学提供
美国巡回法官艾米·科尼·巴雷特是圣母大学的前法学教授。
在2017年获得确认时，巴雷特向参议员们保证，她的信仰不会影响她的判例，尽管她在1998年的一篇学术文章中主张天主教法官回避死刑案件，引用了“执行死刑在道德上是不可能的”。
巴雷特告诉参议院小组，“我认为真诚的信念和作为法官的职责之间没有冲突”。"我绝不会把自己的个人信念强加给法律。"
在她的确认过程中，巴雷特收回了她对死刑的立场，告诉参议员她不会“作为一个总括问题”回避死刑案件。在堕胎问题上，她坚持过去的评论，即“堕胎……总是不道德的”，但是补充说，如果得到证实，她“对这一问题或任何其他问题的看法将不会影响她履行作为法官的职责。”
《赞美之人》否认其做法会对成员的职业生活产生任何影响。
该组织的一名发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻，“每个人都要为自己的决定负责，包括他们职业生涯中的决定，任何社区成员都不应违背自己的良心。”
“女仆”的前用法令人侧目，该组织否认与该书有关联
随着《赞美之人》越来越受到关注，它的其他一些做法也越来越受到关注，其中最主要的是历史上使用的“女仆”一词，意思是女性“可信赖的知己”根据该组织的网站，该术语已不再使用。
2005年，该组织的杂志《藤蔓与树枝》的一个版本将巴雷特的母亲琳达描述为“女仆”
提到“女仆”，一些新闻媒体和评论员猜测，《赞美的人》可能是玛格丽特·阿特伍德著名小说《女仆的故事》的灵感来源。在一个1986年纽约时报书评采访中，阿特伍德在描述这本书时说:“现在有一个教派，一个富有魅力的天主教派生教派，称之为女性女仆。”
阿拉斯泰尔·格兰特/美联社档案
2019年9月10日，在伦敦的新闻发布会上，加拿大作家玛格丽特·阿特伍德手里拿着一本她的书《遗嘱》。
塞德尔说，他相信阿特伍德的书和《赞美的人》之间象征性的相似之处会引起宗教自由倡导者的共鸣。塞德尔说，特朗普政府已经将该国推向了“神权宗教独裁主义”，就像书中描述的虚构国家一样，“像艾米·科尼·巴雷特这样的被提名人加剧了所有这些恐惧。”
赞美的人强烈否认这种联系，在其网站上明确表示“赞美之人社区不是阿特伍德女士工作的灵感来源!”该小组解释说，“女仆”一词是圣经中的一个参考，但“认识到近年来这个词的含义在我们的文化中发生了巨大的变化，我们不再使用这个词。”
在接受美国广播公司新闻采访时，阿特伍德表示，这本书受到了多重“主要影响”，并表示，由于她的笔记中没有明确的证据，她“不愿说任何具体的东西”。
“我当然没有局限于一个教派或团体，”她说。“所以我不认为这是一个可以合法使用的线程。”
Supreme Court favorite Judge Amy Coney Barrett faces renewed attention for religious affiliation
As U.S. Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s name has emerged atopa list of possible replacementsfor the late JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburgon the Supreme Court, her long affiliation with a small, Charismatic Christian community in Indiana has drawn fresh attention – in part due to the group’s historical use of the term “handmaid” to describe its female members.
The ecumenical organization, People of Praise, has fought to distance itself from comparisons to the oppressive fictional religious order in the Margaret Atwood book and television adaptation, "The Handmaid’s Tale." But to Andrew Seidel, a constitutional attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the symbolic comparisons to Atwood's dystopian narrative invite real and important questions.
“There are serious and deep concerns about Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s affiliation with People of Praise and her past comments about the conflict between faith and law,” Seidel said. “Not only is her connection to this community and her previous writings fair to ask about, but senators have a duty to the constitution to ask those questions.”
Barrett is a devout Catholic and favorite of conservative Christians. She faced scrutiny for her past writings and public comments during a testy 2017 confirmation hearing for her nomination to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. But this time around, it is her association with People of Praise that is commandeering headlines ahead of her possible nomination to the high court.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett attends the Federalists Society's 2019 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Nov. 15, 2019.
The group is describedon its websiteas a “charismatic Christian community,” which typically refers to adherents that have borrowed from Pentecostal practices, like speaking in tongues, prophesying and praying for divine healings. The group encourages its more than 1,700 members to make a covenant to the community, and it also assigns younger members a personal mentor, known as a “head” or “leader.” Until recently, women in those roles were referred to as “handmaids.”
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., distributed a press release on Tuesday calling criticism of the group nothing more than “ugly smears” that reflect “anti-Catholic bigotry.” Sasse referred to the group as “basically a Bible study.”
Vice President Mike Pence told ABC News Wednesday that he considers Barrett’s strong religious values an asset, rather than a liability, and said objections are evidence that some are harboring “intolerance … about her Catholic faith.”
Vice President Mike Pence gives a television interview after a campaign rally, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at Lanconia Municipal Airport in Gilford, N.H.
“Judge Barrett, and other judges currently under consideration, we have every confidence are exactly the kind of jurists that the president has appointed from early in this administration,” said Pence, who was the governor of Indiana prior to becoming vice president. “It's been men and women who are committed to upholding the constitution, applying laws as written and serving in a manner consistent with the late and great Justice Antonin Scalia.”
Barrett, 48, has not spoken publicly about her involvement in People of Praise, and an aide to Barrett would not comment on her current status with the organization. But a former member confirmed to ABC News that she had been a member, and publicly available documents support the claim – though it is unclear whether she still participates today. A spokesperson for the group said it “leaves it up to its members to decide whether to publicly disclose their involvement in our community.”
Since at least 2006, Barrett and her family have garnered occasional mentions in issues of the group’s quarterly publication, called Vine & Branches. In one issue, which was later pulled off the internet, Barrett’s photograph appeared as part of an article about the organization’s Leaders Conference for Women. Between 2010 and 2012, three references to the birth of her children are included in members’ updates. And in a 2017 congressional questionnaire, Barrett listed herself as a trustee for the Trinity School, the organization’s educational program.
A photograph of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, under consideration for nomination to the Supreme Court, appeared in a May 2006 issue of "Vine & Branches," a quarterly publication from the People of Praise, alongside an article about a women's leadership conference.
Bob Byrne, a former member of People of Praise, also confirmed Barrett’s connection to the group. He said he left the organization on “completely amicable” terms in 2008, when his work as a Deacon in a nearby town absorbed too much of his time and attention to remain active in the community.
Byrne said he did not know Barrett well, but based on limited interactions found her “quite impressive” and “a very fine woman.” He described her role in the community as any other member, often taking on daily tasks and participating in events hosted by the group.
“I remember one day when I was [at her parish],” Byrne said, “[Barrett’s] task for the day was to take the young kids out and do Bible lessons with them while the adults attended mass. And I said, ‘Wow, wow’ – here is this lady, she’s a law instructor and she’s doing the task of just being a mom. Quite impressive.”
Questions of a covenant and the law
Scrutiny of the group has largely involved reports that it encourages members to make a covenant to the community, which it describes as “a promise of love and service we choose to make to one another.” The group claims it does not force members into the covenant and is clear that it is “not an oath or a vow.”
Seidel, the Freedom From Religion Foundation lawyer, said any statement of loyalty to the organization -- and possible covenant with its members -- could threaten to supersede her oath to uphold the Constitution.
“How does the covenant interact with the oath that all justices take to uphold the constitution as the supreme law of the land? We need to know that,” he said.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to honor Bay of Pigs veterans, in the East Room of the White House, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.
When the New York Times first reported on Barrett’s affiliation with the group in 2017 ahead of Barrett’s elevation to the federal appellate court, religious organizations objected to such questions.The Catholic Leaguereleased a statement calling the report a “Catholic-baiting tactic” to cast doubt on Barrett’s fitness as a federal judge.
Beyond the specific group, Barrett’s Catholic faith emerged as a subject of question during her confirmation hearing for the appellate seat.
“Whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different,” said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s ranking Democrat. “I think in your case, professor … the dogma lives loudly within you, and that is of concern.”
Feinstein’s comments drew rebukes from religious freedom groups. Her phrase, “the dogma lives loudly within you,” has since made its way onto tee shirts and mugs for sale on the internet.
Nelson Tebbe, a law professor at Cornell University, said Feinstein’s line of questioning went too far, but demonstrates the dilemma senators face in asking judicial nominees about legitimate issues involving faith over secular law.
“The toughest question is, what can senators ask about? Because the line between legitimate probing of a potential justice’s willingness to adhere to the law, on the one hand, and on the other hand, expressions of religious prejudice -- it’s just hard to draw that line,” Tebbe said.
U.S. Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a former law professor at the University of Notre Dame.
At the time of her 2017 confirmation, Barrett assured Senators that her faith would have no bearing on her jurisprudence, despite advocating in a 1998 scholarly article for Catholic judges to recuse themselves from death penalty cases, citing the “the moral impossibility of enforcing capital punishment.”
“I see no conflict between having a sincerely held faith and duties as a judge,” Barrett told the Senate panel. “I would never impose my own personal convictions upon the law.”
During her confirmation, Barrett walked back her position on the death penalty,telling senatorsthat she would not recuse “as a blanket matter” from death penalty cases. On abortion, she stood by past comments that “abortion … is always immoral,” butadded that, if confirmed, her “views on this or any other question will have no bearing on the discharge of [her] duties as a judge.”
For its part, People of Praise denies that its practices would have any effect on a member’s professional life.
“Each person is always responsible for his or her own decisions, including decisions in their careers, and no community member should ever violate his or her conscience,” a spokesperson for the group told ABC News.
Former use of 'handmaid' raises eyebrows, group denies link to book
As People of Praise has come more into focus, so too have some of its other practices, chief among them the historical use of the term "handmaid" to mean a female "trusted confidant." The term is no longer in use, according to the organization’s website.
In 2005, one edition of the group’s magazine, Vine & Branches, described Barrett’s mother, Linda, as a “handmaid.”
The reference to “handmaids” has led some news outlets and commentators to speculate that People of Praise may have been the inspiration behind Margaret Atwood’s famous novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In a1986 New York Times Book Reviewinterview, Atwood said when describing the book: "There is a sect now, a Catholic charismatic spinoff sect, which calls the women handmaids.”
Canadian author Margaret Atwood holds a copy of her book "The Testaments," during a news conference in London, Sept. 10, 2019.
Seidel said he believes the symbolic parallels between Atwood’s book and People of Praise will resonate with religious freedom advocates. The Trump administration has already moved the country toward a “theocratic religious authoritarianism” like the fictional country described in the book, Seidel said, and “a nominee like Amy Coney Barrett reinforces all of those fears.”
People of Praisevehemently deniessuch connections, stating explicitly on its website that “The People of Praise community was not the inspiration for Ms. Atwood’s work!” The group explains that the term “handmaid” was a Biblical reference, but “recognizing that the meaning of this term has shifted dramatically in our culture in recent years, we no longer use the term.”
Reached for comment by ABC News, Atwood said there were multiple “major influences on the book” and said short of explicit evidence in her notes, she “would hesitate to say anything specific.”
“I certainly did not confine myself to one sect or group,” she said. “So I don't think this is a thread that can be legitimately used in this way.”
