Barrrett linked to faith group that believes men are superior

Judge Amy Barrett. File pic/AFP

President Donald Trump's nominee for the US 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.

A trustee at linked school

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. Only members of the group serve on the schools' board, according to the system's president.

The AP also reviewed 15 years of back issues of the body's internal magazine, Vine and Branches, published birth announcements, photos and other mentions of Barrett and her husband, Jesse, whose family has been active in the group for four decades. On Friday, magazine's editions were all removed from the group's website.

People of Praise is a religious community based in charismatic Catholicism, a movement that grew out of the influence of Pentecostalism, which emphasizes 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.

Draws scrutiny

Barrett's affiliation with a conservative religious group that elevates the role of men has drawn particular scrutiny given that she would be filling the SC 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.

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