"Christianity's Answer to the ACLU"--Ann Arbor News

[Demeter]

http://www.mlive.com/aanews/

"Religious wars waged in court
Thomas More Law Center sees itself as 'Christianity's answer to the ACLU'
Thursday, July 14, 2005
BY CATHERINE O'DONNELL
News Staff Reporter

When Richard Thompson talks about his work as president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, he uses words like "war'' and "battlefields.'' Thompson sees himself and his attorneys as soldiers in a fierce battle for the Christian soul of America, a war playing out in courtrooms around the country, most importantly the Supreme Court. His firm's aggressive tactics are drawing national attention.

"It's important to be aggressive warriors in the courtroom, to be Christianity's answer to the ACLU,'' Thompson said in a recent interview. A steady stream of cases has dealt blows "to what we believe are the religious foundations of our nation.''

Founded six years ago with seed money from conservative Catholic philanthropist Tom Monaghan, the Thomas More Law Center is named after the patron saint of lawyers. As Chancellor of England, More refused to condone the actions of King Henry VIII, who in seeking a divorce from Catherine of Aragon broke with the Catholic Church. Convicted of treason, More was executed in 1535 and is now regarded as a Catholic martyr. Monaghan, who founded Domino's Pizza, footed the law center's operating costs for a number of years, shelling out as much as $1.5 million annually. Now the firm operates on its own at Domino's Farms, supported by 50,000 donors, Thompson said.

With some 200 cases either under consideration or in full-fledged litigation, the firm focuses on those that involve religious rights of Christians, such as abortion and religious images in public places. A former Oakland County prosecutor, Thompson would like to see the firm as large as the American Civil Liberties Union but acknowledges the liberal bulwark is still "the elephant on the dance floor.''



Catherine O'Donnell can be reached at [e-mail] or [phone].







© 2005 Ann Arbor News.


CAN THERE BE ANYTHING MORE UNAMERICAN THAN THIS "CULTURE WAR"? BESIDES KARL ROVE AND GWB AND CHENEY AND.....

[LisaM]

1. Thomas More lost the Catholic church for England

Stubborn, intractable, and really (considering that they just wanted to ensure the succession) not very patriotic.

[OKthatsIT]

2. these people are HARDLY Christians..

Federalist Society, Nazis, or stupid bible belters is more likely

[BiggJawn]

3. So did Monaghan take that money off his TAXES?

They can't fool me. So they try to impress us po' folk who'll never hold 1.5 megabux in our whole LIVES that he's a "good man" for using this center he created as a tax dodge...

Dominionist fundy Swine!

Hey...."Dominionist"..."Domino's"....:tinfoilhat:

[CatholicEdHead]

18. He is starting his own secuded gated "Catholic" community in FL

where only "orthodox Catholics" are allowed. If you do not toe the line 100% with the Vatican, you are not welcome.

http://www.avemaria.com/

[BiggJawn]

20. Honor system, or do they search your condo for condoms?

"Hey! How come they never sell you any fish for Friday down at the 'Pope and Shop'?"

[BattyDem]

4. The ACLU fights for the civil rights of all Americans ...

regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Isn't that the "Christian" thing to do? :eyes:

[livinginphotographs]

15. That's what I was thinking.

Wouldn't the "Christian" version of the ACLU be....um, pretty much the ACLU?

[IA_Seth]

5. No more Domino's! n/t

[hootinholler]

9. You got that right!

Boycott Dominoes! Papa Johns makes better pies anyway, but Ledo's rules.

-Hoot

[anitar1]

19. My family has boycotted Domino's for many years.

This started after Roe v. Wade. The owner is a real swine.

[Barrett808]

6. "What we believe (wrongly) are the religious foundations of our nation"

You know what, Mr. Thompson? The Founding Fathers were Deists.

[pimpbot]

7. Oh hell naw.. I'll never order another Dominos pizza again

Sigh, time to add another company to the "DO NOT BUY" list!

[PassingFair]

11. I'm all for boycotting pigs...

but I don't think he owns Domino's anymore.

[mitchum]

8. Which part of "you will be hated just as they hate me" do these...

whining assholes not understand?
Bring on the lions!

[iamjoy]

10. People Just Don't Get The ACLU

They defend religion in some cases, just not when it is government sponsored. For example, a Catholic man in Michigan was forced into a Pentecostal drug rehab program. ACLU said that was wrong.

I don't agree with the ACLU's stance on every issue, sometimes I think they are going too far, but I give them credit for consistency.

[Demeter]

12. Don't Worry, Folks

Monaghan is persona non grata here in Ann Arbor--he's ticked off so many locals that he's selling out and moving to (where else) Florida. At least, that's the latest gossip---he's also notoriously fickle and mercurial in his decisions.

I am always amused by the people in this movement--they seem to think that there are two kinds of law, and theirs is better, if they could just market it to the gullible, misguided public. The whole point of the United States has completely escaped them--I think bringing back the lions might be a good idea, just to remind them what persecution feels like. Opus Dei, Dominionists, Federalists, all have no concept of the spirit of America's greatness. They are so wrapped up in their crabbed little rules written by crabbed little people in totally different situations, without understanding in the slightest those universal goods that all people need: empowerment, independence, community, tolerance, etc., etc.

The whole Intelligent Design con game; a total oxymoron: there is nothing intelligent about it. But there is no arguing with the closed minds.

[KittyWampus]

13. These People's Version Of Christianity Is Sadly Warped

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

14. With people like this coming out infering they are the voice of Christians

You people really wonder why you scare the shit out of a lot of us here?

[iverglas]

16. god's lawyers!

Here are a few. Counsel for interveners in the 2004 reference to the Supreme Court of Canada (similar to the one in Massachusetts) on same-sex marriage ... the ones who supported same sex-marriage:


http://www.canlii.org/ca/cas/scc/2004/2004scc79.html

Solicitors for the intervener the United Church of Canada: WeirFoulds, Toronto.

Solicitors for the intervener the Canadian Unitarian Council: Smith & Hughes, Vancouver.

Solicitors for the intervener the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto: Roy Elliott Kim O'Connor, Toronto.

Solicitor for the interveners the Canadian Coalition of Liberal Rabbis for same-sex marriage and Rabbi Debra Landsberg, as its nominee: Ed Morgan, Toronto.

Yeh, there were some lawyers on the other side, too, but their clients were only pretending to be on that god's side. ;)

[brentspeak]

17. Thomas More was not a saint

He signed the death warrants for several accused "witches" in his time.

[Demeter]

21. Right! Thomas More Was the Pope's Apparatchik

and a traitor to England thereby. Monahgan and fellow travelers are minions to the unholy alliance of religion and enslavement that Bush nominally heads, although I keep waiting for him to go too far....