By: Susan J. Stabile
Catholic legal theory is an emerging concept in legal
philosophy and thought and this article briefly explores the theory
and what it can contribute to ways of thinking about the law and
the legal system. The article examines three aspects of
Professor Scaprelanda’s description of Catholic legal theory:
the dignity of the human person, the indispensability of community
for human flourishing, and the concept of authentic freedom.
Catholic legal theory starts from an understanding that
the dignity of all persons is inviolable because humans are created
in the image of God. What flows directly from this is the
principle of respect for human life at every stage. The
question is, then, what can the law do to best serve the
development of human lives? Catholic legal theory posits that
human existence is inherently relational, and for people to
flourish it must be within the context of community.
Therefore, people have two obligations: to contribute to the
common good, and to refrain from excluding any individual or
group. Because humans have inviolable dignity, we have
inalienable rights, translated into freedom. The Catholic
understanding of freedom, known as “authentic freedom” differs from
the secular understanding. Rather than freedom from
interference with individual pursuits, as secular theory posits,
freedom is the right to make choices consistent with truth.
These aspects of Catholic legal theory provide a basis for
claims of equality and human rights, while curbing excessive
individualism which negatively affects the common good.
Although Catholic legal theory has its own concepts, analysis under
the theory may not necessarily produce different results from
analysis under other theories because of shared concepts.
This overlap, however, does not decrease the value of Catholic
legal theory as an alternative means of analysis. There is
value in the very idea of a theory that focuses on what it means to
be human. In addition, the theory is not a means to replace
neutral premises with non-neutral premises; it merely substitutes a
different underlying view. Many are tempted to ignore the
insight that can be gained from religious perspective, but it is
neither justifiable nor sensible to ignore the possibility of the
truth advanced by such a perspective without examining the
value.