That line was part of the Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, co-authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, on the "right to abortion."
Archbishop Wenski called this an "endorsement of moral relativism," which determines truth "by one's own will" rather than "the nature of things." Same sex marriage, he said, is the "most current poster child" for this viewpoint.
On the other hand, the view held by Christianity, and the Founding Fathers, is one that believes "men and women are not self-creators but creatures. Truth is not constructed, but received, and it must reflect the reality of things."
Without objective truth based on natural law, society will reach a "dead end," the archbishop said.
"And our pluralistic society has reached this dead end when it seems to be based precisely on a common agreement to set aside truth claims about the good and to adopt instead relativism governed by majority rule as the foundation of democracy."
Such a society loses the true understanding of justice, and is ruled only by the untempered will of the majority, he explained.
But this was not the vision of America's founders, Archbishop Wenski noted. Rather, their "vision of freedom was one of ordered liberties, a vision remarkably congruent with Catholic social thought."
He suggested that Jefferson, Adams, Monroe and Lincoln all shared a common vision of law, justice and freedom with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Thomas More, the patrons of lawyers and politicians, respectively.
"They found meaning in the reality of things, the reality of the created order – an order accessible to human reason," the archbishop said.
"They would certainly concede that both the State and the Church, each within its respective sphere, might regulate marriage; but they would never pretend to usurp the authority to create the meaning of marriage."
Archbishop Wenski concluded by telling the assembled judges and lawyers that they "do well to recall St. Thomas More's example and to seek his prayers."
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"May you be, in his words, 'for the greater glory and honor of God and in pursuit of His justice…able in argument, accurate in analysis, strict in study, correct in conclusion, candid with clients, honest with adversaries, and faithful in all details of the faith.'"