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37 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/ndlep37 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD THE ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIP OF THE JUDEO- CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION TO ETHICS, LAW & PUBLIC POLICY T MOST REVEREND THOMAS JOHN PAPROCKI* My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: It is good to be with you for this gathering sponsored by the Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy here at Notre Dame Law School. I graduated with my MBA degree from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business in 2013 and it was a privilege for me to have taught here at Notre Dame Law School as an Adjunct Professor of Law from 2016 until last year, so I appreciate the invitation to return to the Notre Dame campus and speak with you today. The topic of my presentation is, The Essential Relationship of the Judeo- Christian intellectual tradition to Ethics, Law, and Public Policy. That is an intentional reordering of the elements the title of the Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, because I would propose that ethical principles come first, with law and public policy flowing from them. I would also emphasize that the relationship of the Judeo-Christian intellectual tradition with Ethics, Law, and Public Policy is essential because without that tradition, law and public policy become untethered from the Truth and devolve simply into a power struggle simply to impose one's will on others. There are some who would argue that the Judeo-Christian intellectual tradition is obsolete, if not obnoxious to modern ethical thinking. They propose that law and public policy should flow from neutral principles of ethics, rather than on a value system rooted in religion. The problem is that there is no such thing as a value-neutral system of ethics. The reality is that a system of ethics based on secular principles is not value-neutral, since secular principles at times are in fact hostile to religious value. One of the definitions for the word religion offered by the Merriam- Webster Dictionary is, a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.1 Indeed, secular principles and beliefs may be held by atheists with as much ardor and faith as those held by adherents to a theological tradition, so much so that it is possible to say that there is such a thing as a secular religion that exists alongside theistic religions. Thus, in her article published in First Things entitled, The Zealous Faith of Secularism: How the * Bishop of Springfield in Illinois. This foreword is from a speech given at Notre Dame Law School on November 3, 2022, held by the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. 1 Religion, MERRIAM-WEBSTER, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion (last visited Nov. 1, 2022). 1

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