Pope John Paul II, Freedom, and Constitutional Law

Abstract

In this article, I will briefly describe certain trends in American constitutional law, with a particular focus on the doctrine of substantive due process. These trends reflect seriously misguided approaches. The Court has, to a certain degree, absorbed the worst aspects of modern culture. In certain opinions, the Court has embraced an extreme form of moral autonomy and the privatization of religion. These views, which have not yet completely carried the day in the lower courts, have serious inadequacies, and are ultimately threatening to the individual freedoms they purport to protect. Pope John Paul II’s writings offer a helpful alternative; his thought emphasizes the link between freedom and truth, and the need to understand freedom within the limits of the objective moral law. This is a perspective we would do well to consider as we think through these issues in constitutional law and in public policy debates outside the courts.