As part of their first post-Thanksgiving show on Monday, the cast of ABC The View wallowed in some anti-Catholic bigotry. They demanded that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett recuse herself from a religious liberty case because of her Catholic faith.
It was quickly expanded to all the Catholic justices with erroneous accusations that Barrett had either renounced her faith, was a member of a splinter cult, and/or held the rank of “handmaid” within the hierarchy of The Catholic Church.
“Justice Amy Coney Barrett's religious faith is being called into question again,” Joy Behar proclaimed. “There were calls for her to recuse herself from a case which is about a web designer who wants to post a statement that she won't design wedding websites for same-sex couples because it's against her religious beliefs.”
Noting that Barrett was a member of the People of Praise, a Catholic organization that she called “a hate group,” Behar treated the group’s adherence to Catholic teachings as a serious problem and seemed to suggest beliefs such as “sex should occur only within marriage and, of course, between a man and a woman” where cultish beliefs only followed by the group.
Flaunting her ignorance, Behar seemed to be unaware that Barrett was a devout Catholic, even suggesting she had renounced her faith to follow a cult (click “expand”):
HOSTIN: But she’s Catholic by faith.
BEHAR: Who is?
HOSTIN: She's a Catholic.
BEHAR: She was.
HOSTIN: And she reportedly –
NAVARRO: No, she is
HOSTIN: She's catholic.
BEHAR: So, what’s these People—?
HAINES: That's a side group.
Racist Sunny Hostin, who purports to be a devout Catholic herself, whined that “a majority of the Supreme Court justices” are Catholic and that “they don't recuse themselves when they have to deal with religious issues.”
Even though People of Praise were not a party to the case, Hostin bemoaned that Barrett and the other Catholic justices were not recusing themselves. According to her, “the problem here is the Supreme Court has no procedure by which to force a judge's removal. You get to decide on your own.”
Deflecting from their own bigotry, the hate-fueled duo accused Barrett of being the bigot for being on the board of a private school that followed Catholic teachings (click “expand”):
BEHAR: But she served for almost three years on the board of this private school –
HOSTIN: Yes.
BEHAR: -- hat effectively barred admissions to children of same-sex parents.
HOSTIN: Yes, that was the Trinity school
BEHAR: So, she's prejudiced obviously against gay marriage and gay people it seems to me.
HOSTIN: It seems that way.
Ever-shrieking and ever-hateful co-host Ana Navarro agreed that the Catholic justices needed to go because “The problem we have is that I think most of America does not believe that this court separates between church and state.” “Yeah, we don’t,” Behar agreed, helping to erode American institutions.
“[W]e can trust the process, but do we trust the justices? Do I trust Clarence Thomas who's married to Ginni Thomas who was involved in the insurrection to not recuse himself in a case involved in the elections? No, I don't,” the raging Navarro shouted, adding that the court was suffering from “a crisis of credibility.”
Perhaps that’s because the liberal media are telling the public that the Supreme Court is evil because they’re Catholic and conservative and can’t be trusted.
There was some pushback to the majority opinion at the table from “avid LGBTQ ally and supporter” Sara Haines, who argued that Barrett didn’t need to recuse herself. “This is not a religious opinion,” she said, arguing that they back up their opinions with scholarly sources. “As the general public, we hear the headlines of the results, not how they got there. It's kind of like a math problem. They have to cite and source every single part of what they do.”
Haines noted that “judges across this country go to work every day and have to set aside their personal beliefs” so it would be no different from Barrett. “So, despite maybe not liking where she gets through her legal philosophy, I don't think it necessarily is immersed in just her religious belief,” she added.
Barrett also got weak support from self-described “conservative” Alyssa Farah Griffin who said the Justice would do “what they’re expected to do” in being impartial and “it's kind of important that we trust the process.” She also erroneously suggested that Hostin would be an impartial Catholic if she were on the court.
The View’s anti-Catholic bigotry was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Etsy and Procter & Gamble. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
November 28, 2022
11:13:51 a.m. EasternJOY BEHAR: Welcome back. Justice Amy Coney Barrett's religious faith is being called into question again. There were calls for her to recuse herself from a case which is about a web designer who wants to post a statement that she won't design wedding websites for same-sex couples because it's against her religious beliefs.
Now, here's my question. She is, you know, a religious person. She belongs to this People of Praise group which the – um – the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled them a hate group, and their founder has questioned the so-called separation of church and state. They believe that sex should occur only within marriage and, of course, between a man and a woman. They've got very specific things that they believe.
SUNNY HOSTIN: But she’s Catholic by faith.
BEHAR: Who is?
HOSTIN: She's a Catholic.
BEHAR: She was.
HOSTIN: And she reportedly –
ANA NAVARRO: No, she is
HOSTIN: She's catholic.
BEHAR: So, what’s these People—?
SARA HAINES: That's a side group.
HOSTIN: As are a majority of the Supreme Court justices—
BEHAR: Are Catholic, yeah.
HOSTIN: So, they don't recuse themselves when they have to deal with religious issues. But I will say this: She's never -- I'm not defending her just because she went to my law school. She's never publically acknowledged her membership in the community since becoming a judge. Did not disclose it though during her confirmation. And what made me most uncomfortable is at the time it was reported that the People of Praise erased every single mention and every single photo of her from their website.
So, if she wasn't affiliated, then why remove all of that information? And I think the problem here is the Supreme Court has no procedure by which to force a judge's removal. You get to decide on your own.
BEHAR: But she served for almost three years on the board of this private school.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BEHAR: That effectively barred admissions to children of same-sex parent.
HOSTIN: Yes, that was the Trinity school
BEHAR: So, she's prejudiced obviously against gay marriage and gay people it seems to me.
HOSTIN: It seems that way.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: I think you do have to either believe in the impartiality of the justice system or not though is the problem. Because, to Sunny’s point, the majority of the court is Catholic. So, you could single her out because of this association, but when we chose judges – [gesturing to Hostin] like you're Catholic. I would trust you to be able to argue a case involving Catholic faith.
HOSTIN: I think I could be impartial.
FARAH GRIFFIN: That is what they’re expected to do. So, I think when we talk about our institutions, it's kind of important that we trust the process.
HAINES: Yeah. Because I'm an avid LGBTQ ally and supporter and I believe in all of that, but I don't think she should recuse herself for that very reason. This is not a religious opinion. And Sunny would know this best. When you write these opinions, they're pages long. As the general public, we hear the headlines of the results, not how they got there. It's kind of like a math problem. They have to cite and source every single part of what they do. And judges across this country go to work every day and have to set aside their personal beliefs.
So, despite maybe not liking where she gets through her legal philosophy, I don't think it necessarily is immersed in just her religious belief.
ANA NAVARRO: Two things. First of all, the court has ruled on separation of church and state. In 1947, Everson vs. Board of Education, Justice Hugo Black wrote, “in the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against the establishment of religion and law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state.”
The problem we have is that I think most of America does not believe that this court separates between church and state.
BEHAR: Yeah, we don’t.
NAVARRO: Which is why we have record low approval ratings of this court.
HOSTIN: That's a good point.
NAVARRO: But it's also because of, you know, people -- we can trust the process, but do we trust the justices? Do I trust Clarence Thomas who's married to Ginni Thomas who was involved in the insurrection to not recuse himself in a case involved in the elections? No, I don't! [Speaking over Hostin] Neither do most Americans which is why the court is in such a – has a – in such a crisis of credibility and I think it's something Justice Roberts has to do something about.
There needs to be some guidelines as to what should require recusal.
(…)
11:18:34 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: It’s a little different from just being a Catholic in this – to me, because according to The Washington Post, she's considered a handmaid in the religion. She's considered a high --
NAVARRO: The Washington Post called her a what?
BEHAR: According to The Washington Post, Barrett was a handmaid or a high-ranking woman within the group. It's not just being a Catholic.
(…)
