Guy Dorius died on Oct. 13, 2020, after teaching religion at BYU For 26 years. (BYU Religion Department)
Longtime BYU religion professor Guy Dorius, 61, died on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. He is remembered by many students and faculty as a life-changing professor and friend.
Alex Baugh, chair of the BYU Department of Church History and Doctrine, expressed his condolences in a statement.
“Brother Dorius was a long-time faculty member of the Department of Church History and Doctrine here at BYU where he served for 26 years. He taught thousands of students over the years and specialized in teaching courses on the Eternal Family (REL C 200) and the Doctrine and Covenants (REL C 324 and 325). He was a master teacher. He will be sorely missed,” Baugh said.
Baugh added that Dorius was a friend to many student athletes. Members of the BYU football program remembered Dorius in a video they posted online.
BYU student Steven Miller expressed that although he only had one class taught by Dorius, he was impacted by his teachings. “As a member for my whole life, I usually don’t expect to learn a ton of new stuff from religious classes, but he taught me something new quite often,” Miller said.
Religion professor Hank Smith broke the news that Dorius had died on Twitter. Many former students commented on his tweet.
The BYU Religion Department has lost a dear professor. Dr. Guy Dorius passed away today. He was beloved by students, faculty, and staff. A fantastic man and kind friend.
Former BYU student student Adam Zimmerman commented on Smith’s Twitter post. “I took his Book of Mormon classes. I did truly appreciate him. Thank you for sharing the news. Comforting to realize Brother Dorius probably got right to work teaching the Gospel in the Spirit World,” Zimmerman said.
Dorius was born in Salt Lake City and graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in fuels engineering. He later attended Brigham Young University and received a master’s degree in education administration and a doctorate in family studies. He is survived by his wife, Vicki, and their seven children. More information can be found in his obituary.
Since the aftermath of the Beirut explosion, a group of youth have been channeling capacities gained in Bahá’í community-building efforts toward relief and recovery.
BEIRUT — In the days after the explosion that rocked Beirut in August, a group of youth engaged in Bahá’í community-building efforts quickly met to make plans for assisting with relief and recovery. They created a volunteer network called the “Helping Hub” to coordinate the actions of people around them, an initiative that has evolved in subsequent months to respond to ongoing needs.
“We knew we had to help in any way possible,’” says Karim Mouzahem, one of the young people spearheading the initiative.
The youths’ ongoing activities aimed at spiritual and moral empowerment had given them experience with fostering cooperation and a sense of shared endeavor among small groups of people. Now they could channel this capacity to build a volunteer network.
“We decided to take a very small step, which was to open a messaging group and invite all of our friends and people that we met through our community-building efforts to track others who were in need of assistance and to identify initiatives that were already underway.
“When we started out, we were thinking, ‘We are only 10 youth. How can we help?’ But we wished to serve our community and our country, and felt hopeful as the 10 participants quickly grew to 80 volunteers of different ages and backgrounds joining and offering assistance.”
Slideshow 5 imagesEveryone involved shared a spirit of service, giving them the energy needed to work through difficult conditions.
Everyone involved shared a spirit of service, giving them the energy needed to work through difficult conditions. For over a month, they were distributing 300 meals daily as well as arranging clothing donations, helping to clean up damaged properties, covering broken windows, and carrying out other tasks. They were careful to use appropriate equipment and take safety measures to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.
The youth at the center of the initiative knew from experience that the energy and sense of urgency that volunteers felt would be channeled most effectively through systematic action. Every morning, before going out to help on the ground, tasks would be distributed among the volunteers. In the evenings, the group would reflect with everyone involved about the experience of that day, carry out a needs assessment and come up with a new list of tasks for the following day.
Hoda Wallace, a member of the Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly of Lebanon, says, “It was very encouraging to see how this small group of youth arose to action. Though young, they have been serving their communities for years and developing their capacities through an educational process, based on the Bahá’í teachings, that helps them see themselves as agents in addressing the needs of society. They have gained organizational skills, such as the ability to maintain basic statistics, to plan based on resources, and to operate in a mode of learning that came naturally as they organized the Helping Hub.”
Slideshow 5 imagesThe youth at the center of the initiative knew from experience that the energy and sense of urgency that volunteers felt would be channeled most effectively through systematic action.
Those working at the core of the initiative found support in praying together with their community in online gatherings. Mrs. Wallace says, “Prayer sustained and brought many people together over those days of shock and sadness and brought hope. We are seeing the importance of a devotional spirit, which helps us strengthen social ties and deepen spiritual roots that have made us more resilient in the face of this disaster.”
Many of the volunteers were themselves affected by the crisis but found hope in service to others. Maha Wakim, a clinical psychologist, says, “My office was destroyed, and it was devastating for me. Instead of siting and feeling helpless, I joined the Helping Hub when a friend introduced me to them. It was the first step of my healing journey. It helped me get up and feel like I am doing something and helping others. Seeing how everyone came together made a big difference for me.”
Slideshow 5 imagesEvery morning, before going out to help on the ground, tasks would be distributed among the volunteers. In the evenings, the group would reflect with everyone involved about the experience of that day, carry out a needs assessment and come up with a new list of tasks for the following day.
Although the Helping Hub emerged in response to the immediate aftermath of the Beirut explosion, in recent weeks it has given greater attention to long-term development and has increasingly collaborated with other groups and organizations to address ongoing challenges. The youth have been in a position to gather information from the ground, which is meticulously recorded and used to bring different needs to the attention of other organizations that are in a better position to help.
Lara Mansour, who has worked with Helping Hub from its first days, states: “A core aspect of the Bahá’í educational process is the development of capacity for long-term action through increasing degrees of unity among people. When we were on the ground we saw the need for organization. For example, one area of Beirut was flooded with offers of food, water, and other assistance, while other areas received less attention, or none at all. So we have now started another initiative that helps organizations to coordinate efforts among each other.
“This has allowed different social actors to consult and act in a united way. There are now online meetings with 50 people talking about goals around which we are all united. Having developed a collective vision and a sense of purpose gives all of us greater capacity to address needs with the support of external assistance.”
Karim reflects on what this experience has meant for young people. “All of us youth have had a reality check about our true purpose in life. Those weeks when we were on the ground helping people from morning to night were very difficult, but very beautiful because we were together and our service brought us hope. As we return to our daily lives, we realize that we are not satisfied with working day to day without a sense of purpose. We have to serve our communities, because this is where true happiness comes from.”
<p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckgaze7h6000krzn7ki75lbsw@published" data-word-count="55">Over the summer, most of Western Europe had seen substantial success in its battle against the coronavirus after the initial, catastrophic first wave. Serious spring lockdowns across the continent had their intended effect: far lower case rates than the U.S. and the return of at least some semblance of normal life from Madrid to Rome.</p>
<p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckgazsi96001h3g66tmwa6w1c@published" data-word-count="55">A few months later, the story is drastically different. Much of Europe is now seeing a major coronavirus surge, to the point that the European Union countries (with 28 countries and roughly 100 million more people than the U.S.) has surpassed America — which is also seeing its <a href="https://twitter.com/COVID19Tracking/status/1316521412278902785" rel="nofollow">own sharp spike</a> — in current cases overall.</p>
<aside data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-tweet/instances/ckgazsq0f001i3g66h36v364e@published" class="clay-tweet" data-editable="default"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Grim: European Union pulls ahead of USA in COVID19 cases. <a href="https://t.co/J5u7ptcbRr" rel="nofollow">pic.twitter.com/J5u7ptcbRr</a></p>— Isaac Kohane (@zakkohane) <a href="https://twitter.com/zakkohane/status/1316738390772068354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow">October 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
</aside><p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckgazsq0o001j3g663p1g0f4c@published" data-word-count="56">France has emerged as a particular hot spot, with 120,000 cases over the past week. And in an echo of the spring, hospital capacity is being raised as a potential problem, with French officials warning that COVID patients could make up as much of 90 percent of intensive care unit capacity by the end of October.</p>
<p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckgazsqhl001k3g66ajxtwdbx@published" data-word-count="71">The surge in cases is also evident in newly restrictive policies around the continent this week: French prime minister Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/we-must-react-france-s-macron-announces-nightly-curfews-control-n1243408" rel="nofollow">imposed a nightly curfew</a> for large swathes of the country; U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-12/boris-johnson-shuts-pubs-in-u-k-hot-spots-as-virus-spreads" rel="nofollow">ordered pubs</a> in hard-hit areas closed; even Germany, which saw far more success than some of its European peers in controlling the virus, is <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20201014-germany-tightens-covid-19-restrictions-and-merkel-warns-more-may-be-needed" rel="nofollow">putting in place</a> new restrictions around large gatherings and mask wearing.</p>
<p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckgazsqpo001l3g66cmtpxot0@published" data-word-count="62">It is unlikely that many, if any, countries will institute the kind of strict lockdowns that allowed Europe to make quick progress in reducing cases back in the spring. Instead, most governments will likely take incremental steps to try to slow the virus where it is spreading most, in the hopes that more drastic measures are not needed before a vaccine’s arrival.</p>
<aside data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/newsletter-flex-text/instances/ckgaze7h6000lrzn7et2sji3h@published" class="newsletter-flex-text initially-hidden opacity-zero" data-track-id="intelligencer" data-track-type="newsletter-signup"><div class="wrapper-style">
<div data-editable="settings">
<div class="text-form-wrapper">
<div class="text">
<h2 class="title">Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter</h2>
<div class="description">Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="terms-and-policy-wrapper">
<button class="terms-button" role="button">Terms & Privacy Notice</button>
<span class="expanded-terms " aria-hidden="true">By submitting your email, you agree to our <a href="https://nymag.com/newyork/terms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Terms</a> and <a href="https://nymag.com/newyork/privacy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Privacy Notice</a> and to receive email correspondence from us.</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</aside>
The president of the European Council, said the European Union would decide in the coming days, based on the UK’s next proposals, whether it should continue with trade talks.
Speaking at a press briefing Charles Michel said: “It is important to take into consideration all our conclusions and I think the message we send, it is a very clear one – we are determined to negotiate, we are determined to reach an agreement, but we know that there are some difficult topics.
“It is the case for fisheries, certainly, and also for level playing field and also governance.
“We intend to continue the negotiations on the basis of the mandate we have agreed and we repeat that we trust (EU chief negotiator) Michel Barnier, trust his way of working and the transparency between us.
All EU27 Leaders stand behind their negotiator.
We all want to reach an agreement, but not at any price.
“We are united and we will make an assessment in the next days, we will see if it is possible to complete a negotiation, what will be the country’s (the UK’s) proposal and based on that we will make an assessment.”
UK negotiator Lord Frost said he was “disappointed” by the response from the European Council regarding the post-Brexit trade deal talks.
1/3 Disappointed by the #EUCO conclusions on UK/EU negotiations. Surprised EU is no longer committed to working “intensively” to reach a future partnership as agreed with @vonderleyen on 3 October.
He tweeted: “Disappointed by the European Council conclusions on UK/EU negotiations.
“(I’m) surprised the EU is no longer committed to working ‘intensively’ to reach a future partnership as agreed with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on 3 October.
“We will do everything we can but not at any price. My team and I will continue intensive discussions over the coming weeks,” he said.
Emmanuel Macron has also indicated that he is willing to take a hard line on fisheries, with the French President saying: “Under any circumstance, our fishermen should not be sacrificed for Brexit.
“If these conditions are not met, it’s possible we won’t have a deal. If the right terms can’t be found at the end of these discussions, we’re ready for a no-deal for our future relations.”
“As a result of testing carried out in recent days, seven other positive results have emerged among the Swiss Guards, bringing the total number of infected to eleven.”
The Pontifical Swiss Guard Corps reported the news in a statement on Thursday evening.
Measures to contain spread
The press release says “arrangements were immediately made to isolate those with positive cases and all appropriate further steps are being taken, along with additional testing. In the meantime, in addition to what has already been ordered by the Governorate of Vatican City State to contain Covid-19 infection, other effective measures have been taken, also regarding rotation planning for the Guards, in order to exclude any risk of contagion in those places where the Pontifical Swiss Guard serve.”
The communiqué concludes affirming that “the Swiss Guard Corps will communicate further developments on the situation in the coming days.”
The second summit of the month will be held in Brussels on Thursday, with Turkey expected to once again rank high on the agenda. The European Council meeting will start at 15:00 (Brussels time).
<p>Also high in the Council's priorities is the pandemic, with coronavirus outbreaks exceeding 38 million worldwide and six million in Europe. The 27 leaders of the member-states are expected to discuss both the coordination of their actions and the creation and distribution of vaccines against Covid-19.</p><aside><strong class="trendig-now-label">VIRAL ΕΙΔΗΣΕΙΣ</strong>
</aside><p>Turkey's continued unilateral actions will once again occupy the summit, just weeks after the special summit on EU-Turkey relations, following Ankara's latest moves. "The European Council will assess where we are, regarding the situation with Turkey," a European source told reporters, underlining the "EU's solidarity with Greece and Cyprus".
At the same time, the same source noted that “the president of the European Council is closely monitoring the situation.”
“Twice now in a short space of time, Ankara has reneged on its commitments. During his recent brief meeting with his Greek counterpart, the Turkish foreign minister had promised to propose a date for the 61st round of exploratory talks to be held in Turkey. But instead of an invitation, we had a provocation and, in fact, a double one,” government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said on Thursday during a press briefing.
<p>"[This is] a fact that proves Turkey's unreliability but also its contempt for the conclusions of the European Union summit on October 1-2," he added.</p><aside><strong class="trendig-now-label">VIRAL ΕΙΔΗΣΕΙΣ</strong>
</aside><p>"The European Council is meeting again today. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is already in Brussels, where both he and the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, will outline the latest challenges from Turkey to the leaders of the EU member states, with the opening of the Famagusta beach front and the sailing of the Uruc Reis in areas that overlap with parts of the Greek continental shelf. Especially the fact that both of these provocative moves by Ankara directly conflict with specific paragraphs of the conclusions of the recent summit," he said.
The government spokesman stressed: “Greece remains firmly committed to the position expressed by the prime minister since the first incident involving the Turkish research vessel and is summarised in the phrase: The challenges stop, the talks begin.”
He reiterated that exploratory talks with Turkey cannot be held under a regime of threats and blackmail. “There can be no exploratory talks as long as the Oruc Reis remains within the Greek continental shelf. Turkey can not pre-empt the discussion with a research vessel in the area that we are supposed to delineate. Greece confidently insists on diplomacy and continues its efforts to strengthen its strategic alliances. Our positions are already being adopted, not only by the EU but also by the United States, which has abandoned the tactic of equal distances and has denounced Turkey for unilaterally stoking tension in the region, calling on Ankara to end this pre-planned provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece.” He said, however, that “at the same time, Greece is doing on an operational level what it did the first time the Oruc Reis came out, what it should do.
The armed forces are acting in the framework of their mission to defend the nation’s interests. They have proven many times this year that they are capable of efficiently doing their job.” Continuing Thursday’s press briefing, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas referred to the government’s economic policy, stressing that “the budget for 2021 was drawn up in an environment of unprecedented uncertainty, globally, due to the indeterminable ending of the most serious health crisis of the last hundred years.
In addition to the uncertainty associated with the coronavirus pandemic, our country is facing the – also exogenous – challenges of Greek-Turkish relations and migration flows, as well as natural disasters affecting thousands of our fellow citizens, to whom the government has already demonstrated its support.” He underlined that: “In this unprecedented situation, the income of Greeks is projected in the basic fiscal scenario to remain almost unchanged for the two-year period 2020-2021. The government aims to overcome the crisis, with the economy and the society upright, while laying the groundwork for rapid recovery and high, sustainable, smart and inclusive growth.”
The MEPs say that needs to be done with a sufficient amount of staff and funding.
The European Times INFO has learned today about a letter that 48 MEPs from different groups requesting the European Commission to bring to a done the appointment of an EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, a role formerly tasked to Jan Figel:
“The appointment of a Special Envoy holding a permanent mandate focused primarily on freedom of religion or belief, with a multi-year term, full-time staff, and increased funding would send out the message that the EU is committed to protecting everywhere the victims of violence and persecution because of their religion or belief,” the letter said, which was lodged on Wednesday 14th of October.
The position has been vacant since over one year when the term of Figel finished and after some lack of action on the part of the European Commission and strong requests specially from civil society last july the EU announced that they would renew the mandate, but without giving a name, potential names nor a date.
You can read the full letter and list of MEPs sign it below here:
To: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission & Margaritis Schinas. Vice-President of the European Commission
Re: Mandate of the Special Envoy for the promotion and protection of freedom of religion orbelief outside the EU
14/10/2020
Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Vice-President Schinas.
We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, write to welcome your decision in July of this year to renew the mandate of the Special Envoy for the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU. Taking note that the EU has not had a Special Envoy for almost one year, we urge you to renew the position as soon as possible.
The Pew Research Center’s study on global restrictions on religion found that in 2017, 83 countries experienced high or very high levels of restrictions. Moreover, persecution based on religion and belief is contributing to the migration crisis and related security challenges which threaten the EU. Promoting freedom of religion and belief, therefore, is not only in line with the values which guide EU external action, it is also essential in strengthening our role in addressing global challenges.
The appointment of a Special Envoy holding a permanent mandate focused primarily on freedom of religion or belief, with a multi-year term, full-time staff, and increased funding would send out the message that the EU is committed to protecting everywhere the victims of violence and persecution because of their religion or belief.
On numerous occasions, the European Parliament called for a stronger EU role in promoting freedom of religion or belief. In this spirit, and considering the commitments in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, we recommend that the Special Envoy’s mandate is strengthened while remaining focused specifically on protecting freedom of religion or belief, since the targeted attacks on this freedom in recent years have proven the necessity of both a more targeted and urgent response. This is in line with the intent of the European Parliament, as expressed in the Resolution of 4 February 2016 on the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’. and the Report on EU Guidelines and the mandate of the EU Special Envoy, adopted by the European Parliament on 16 January 2019 with overwhelming support.
We thank you for your commitment to working to protect this fundamental right and look forward to working with you and the Special Envoy in furthering the protection of freedom of religion and belief.
Yours sincerely.
Miriam Lexmann MEP (Slovakia) – Zeljana Zovko MEP (Croatia) – Gyorgy Holveny MEP (Hungary) – François-Xavier Bellamy (France) – Milan Zver MEP (Slovenia) – Antonio Tajani MEP (Italy) – Anna Fotyga MEP (Poland) – Lukas Mandl MEP (Austria) – Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White (Spain) – Liudas Mazylis MEP (Lithuania) – Ausra Maldeikicne MEP (Lithuania) – Isabel Benjumea MEP (Spain) – Karlo Rcssler MEP (Croatia) – Balazs Hidveghi MEP (Hungary) – Andrea Bocskor MEP (Hungary) – Ivan Stefanec MEP (Slovakia) – Radan Kanev (Bulgaria) – Leopoldo Lopez Gil MEP (Spain) – Rainer Wieland MEP (Germany) – Lorant Vincze MEP (Romania) – Tomislav Sokol MEP (Croatia) – Ryszard Legutko MEP (Poland) – TomaS Zdechovsky MEP (Czechia) – Michael Gahler MEP (Germany) – David Lega MEP (Sweden) – Roberta Metsola MEP (Malta) – Izabcla Kloc MEP (Poland) – Helmut Geuking MEP (Germany) – Margarita de la Pisa Carrion MEP (Spain) – Jorge Buxade Villalba MEP (Spain) – Salvatore De Meo MEP (Italy) – Adam Kosa MEP (Hungary) – Edina Toth MEP (Hungary) – Peter van Dalen MEP (Netherlands) – Rasa JukneviCiene MEP (Lithuania) – Romana Tome MEP (Slovenia) – Bert-Jan Ruissen MEP (Netherlands) – Markus Ferber MEP (Germany) – Eugen Jurzyca MEP (Slovakia) – Emmanouil Fragkos MEP (Greece) – Hermann Tertsch MEP (Spain) – Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez (Spain) – Anne Sander MEP (France) – Charlie Weimers MEP (Sweden) – Peter Poliak MEP (Slovakia) – Elzbieta Kruk MEP (Poland) – Cristian Terhes MEP (Romania) – Dominik Tarczynski (Poland)
Together with 48 colleagues, we have called on the @EU_Commission to renew the post of the EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief as soon as possible pic.twitter.com/yOPPOiSm1R
Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge said the tightening up of restrictions by governments is “absolutely necessary” as the disease continues to surge, with “exponential increases” in cases and deaths.
“The evolving epidemiological situation in Europe raises great concern: daily numbers of cases are up, hospital admissions are up, COVID-19 is now the fifth leading cause of death and the bar of 1,000 deaths per day has now been reached,” he reported.
Dr. Kluge said overall, Europe has recorded more than seven million cases of COVID-19, with the jump from six million taking just 10 days.
This past weekend, daily case totals surpassed 120,000 for the first time, and on both Saturday and Sunday, reaching new records.
However, he stressed that the region has not returned to the early days of the pandemic.
“Although we record two to three times more cases per day compared to the April peak, we still observe five times fewer deaths. The doubling time in hospital admissions is still two to three times longer,” he said, adding “in the meantime, the virus has not changed; it has not become more nor less dangerous.”
Potential worsening a reality
Dr. Kluge explained that one reason for the higher case rates is increased COVID-19 testing, including among younger people. This population also partly accounts for the decreased mortality rates.
“These figures say that the epidemiological curve rebound is so far higher, but the slope is lower and less fatal for now. But it has the realistic potential to worsen drastically if the disease spreads back into older age cohorts after more indoor social contacts across generations,” he warned.
Looking ahead, Dr. Kluge admitted that projections are “not optimistic”.
Reliable epidemiological models indicate that prolonged relaxing of policies could result in mortality levels four to five times higher than in April, with results visible by January 2021.
He stressed the importance of maintaining simple measures already in place, as the modelling shows how wearing masks, coupled with strict control of social gathering, may save up to 281,000 lives across the region by February.
This assumes a 95 per cent rate for mask use, up from the current rate, which is less than 60 per cent.
Restrictions ‘absolutely necessary’
“Under proportionately more stringent scenarios, the model is reliably much more optimistic, still with slightly higher levels of morbidity and mortality than in the first wave, but with a lower slope – as if we should rather expect a higher and longer swell instead of a sharp peak, giving us more reaction time,” said Dr. Kluge.
“These projections do nothing but confirm what we always said: the pandemic won’t reverse its course on its own, but we will.”
The WHO bureau chief underlined the importance of targeted national responses to contain COVID-19 spread.
“Measures are tightening up in many countries in Europe, and this is good because they are absolutely necessary,” he said. “They are appropriate and necessary responses to what the data is telling us: transmission and sources of contamination occur in homes and indoor public places, and within communities poorly complying with self-protection measures.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was overheard on a hot mic speaking about someone’s pro-life position — presumably that of Judge Amy Coney Barrett — stating she suspects the view is “deeply personal” and “comes with her religion.”
A clip, which surfaced Thursday, featured one side of a conversation featuring Feinstein, who could be heard speaking about an unnamed individual’s “long time” pro-life views.
“She’s been pro-life for a long time. So I suspect with her, it is deeply personal and comes with her religion,” Feinstein said:
?️ Sen. Feinstein hot mic talking about Judge Amy Coney Barrett: “She’s been pro-life for a long time. So I suspect with her, it is deeply personal and comes with her religion.” pic.twitter.com/5dUBhHLQsn
Notably, C-SPAN picked up some of the statement before cutting to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the hallway. The context of Feinstein’s conversation remains unclear, as does who she was specifically referring to. Nonetheless, Barrett’s personal pro-life views have remained a point of concern for radical feminists and Democrat lawmakers, including Feinstein.
In 2017, Democrats questioned Barrett, who had been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, about her Catholic faith, wondering if it would disqualify her from carrying out her Supreme Court duties. Feinstein famously told Barrett that “the dogma lives loudly within you.”
“And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country,” Feinstein said at the time.
On Tuesday, Barrett responded to Feinstein’s questions regarding the judge’s view on certain abortion cases and assured the lawmaker that she has no agenda.
“I follow the law,” Barrett said: Senate Judiciary Committee
Feinstein specifically asked Barrett if she agreed “with Justice Scalia’s view that Roe was wrongly decided.”
“Senator, I completely understand why you are asking the question,” Barrett said. “But, again, I can’t pre-commit or say, ‘Yes, I’m going in with some agenda’ because I’m not. I don’t have any agenda. I have no agenda to try to overrule Casey.”
“I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come,” she added.
While Feinstein pressed for Barrett’s views “as a person,” the nominee remained consistent:
Senator, what I will commit is that I will obey all the rules of stare decisis, that if a question comes before me about whether Casey (Planned Parenthood v. Casey), or any other case, would be overruled, that I will follow the law of stare decisis, applying it as the court has articulated it, applying all the factors, reliance, workability, being undermined by later facts and law, all the standard factors.
“And I promise to do that for any issue that comes up — abortion or anything else. I’ll follow the law,” Barrett added.
