Grand Rapids-based Acton Institute endorses Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee who is part of a far right Christian group

Since the death of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, the Trump administration has waste no time in nominating her replacement.

 Amy Coney Barrett, who used to clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was nominated by President Trump, while some Democrats want to postpone a replacement for Ginsburg until after the election.

The far right think tank, the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, in an article dated September 26th, has essentially endorsed Barrett to become a US Supreme Court Justice. 

The Acton Institute article, written by Rev. Ben Johnson, cites several conservative sources, which praise President Trump’s choice in Amy Cone Barrett. The Acton writer cites the First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based legal firm that defends religious rights cases and is endorsed by Ted Cruz.

Then there is The Catholic Association, a far right Catholic group that not only endorses President Trump, but embraces numerous conservative and neo-liberal positions on issues like abortion, education and health care.

Barrett has serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 2017, but has come under tremendous criticism for her conservative religious views. One major omission in the Acton Institute article, is the fact that Barrett is part of the People of Praise group, which is a Catholic Charismatic entity and believes that women should be subservient to men.

The People of Praise movement is also connected to the Sword of the Spirit group, another Catholic Charismatic group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with strong ties to the conservative Catholic school in Ohio, Steubenville University.

The National Catholic Reporter has an excellent article about People of Praise and Amy Cone Barrett, and the author of that article was recently interviewed on Democracy Now, for those who want to further explore the cult-like nature of the group People of Praise.

For those of you who are familiar with the politics of the Acton Institute, none of this would come as a surprise. However, the Acton endorsement of Barrett should concern anyone who doesn’t want to see religious zealots making legal decisions on the US Supreme Court.