US Supreme Court nominee Barrett tied to People of Praise: Report

President Donald Trump’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court has close ties to a charismatic Christian religious group that holds men are divinely ordained as the “head” of the family and faith. Former members of the group, called People of Praise, say it teaches that wives must submit to the will of their husbands. Federal appeals judge Amy Coney Barrett has not commented publicly on her own or her family’s involvement, and a People of Praise spokesman declined to say whether she and her husband are current members. But Barrett, 48, grew up in New Orleans in a family deeply connected to the organisation and as recently as 2017 she served as a trustee at the People of Praise-affiliated Trinity Schools Inc, according to the nonprofit organisation’s tax records and other documents reviewed by The Associated Press news agency. Only members of the group serve on the schools’ board, according to the system’s president. The AP news agency also reviewed 15 years of back issues of the organisation’s internal magazine, Vine and Branches, which has published birth announcements, photos and other mentions of Barrett and her husband, Jesse, whose family has been active in the group for 40 years. On Friday, all editions of the magazine were removed from the group’s website. People of Praise is a religious community based on charismatic Christianity, a movement that grew out of the influence of Pentecostalism, which emphasises a personal relationship with Jesus and can include baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. The group organises and meets outside the purview of a church and includes people from several Christian denominations, but its members are mostly Roman Catholic. President Donald Trump walks along the Colonnade with Judge Amy Coney Barrett after a news conference to announce Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]Barrett’s affiliation with a conservative religious group that elevates the role of men has drawn particular scrutiny given she would be filling the high court seat held by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a feminist icon who spent her legal career fighting for women to have full equality. Barrett, by contrast, is being hailed by religious conservatives as an ideological heir to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a staunch abortion-rights opponent for whom she clerked as a young lawyer. Shared philosophy In accepting Trump’s nomination on Saturday, the Catholic mother of seven said she shares Scalia’s judicial philosophy. “A judge must apply the law as written,” Barrett said. “Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.” Barrett’s advocates are trying to frame questions about her involvement in People of Praise as anti-Catholic bigotry ahead of her upcoming Senate nomination hearings. Asked about People of Praise in a televised interview last week, Vice President Mike Pence responded: “The intolerance expressed during her last confirmation about her Catholic faith I really think was a disservice to the process and a disappointment to millions of Americans.” But some people familiar with the group and charismatic religious groups like it say Barrett’s involvement should be examined before she receives a lifelong appointment to the highest court in the nation. “It’s not about the faith,” said Massimo Faggioli, a theology professor at Villanova University, who has studied similar groups. He says a typical feature of charismatic groups is the dynamic of strong hierarchical leadership and a strict view of the relationship between women and men. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">