Washington D.C., Jul 31, 2005 / 22:00 pm
In a letter sent to Senator Richard Durbin regarding what many see as a “religious litmus test” for Supreme Court nominee Judge John G. Roberts, Congressman Henry Hyde warned that ‘practicing Catholics need not apply’ must not become the motto of ‘religious bigots’ operating in the public square.
As Judge Roberts faces what many see as an unjust line of scrutiny centered around his being Catholic, largely led by Senator Durbin, (himself a Catholic), Hyde said that “No one of our faith - or that of any other denomination or religion - should be excluded from public office for his or her religious values.”
He cited Article VI of the U.S. Constitution which, he said, “unequivocally prohibits such a litmus test: ‘No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under the United States.’”
Hyde recalled the anti-Catholic bigotry which permeated U.S. politics “well into the 20th century”, saying that “’Irish Need Not Apply’ signs were common in the storefront windows of Chicago's neighborhood until a few years ago, a bias driven largely by the Catholic faith shared by most Irish-Americans.”