While the Dobbs decision was a welcome one for many, it was not so for others, dealing as it does with abortion, one of the most contentious issues of an increasingly-divided America. This article considers the Dobbs decision in the light of other divisive legal decisions in this nation’s history. From a legal perspective, the Dobbs decision has some great benefits: it now forces those who wish to defend or expand abortion in this country to have to do so via the legal process (which will be harder for them to do), and should also strengthen respect for the rule of law and the Constitution in our country overall. All of this is contingent on people choosing to maintain civility while moving forward in a post-Dobbs America, of course, which is by no means guaranteed.

The authors of It Is Right and Just bring to the public’s attention serious questions of political thought and practice. That they do so from the standpoint of theology provides an opportunity for a fresh look at the American founding and the American regime. Though the questions raised are important, the authors unfortunately do not provide a helpful foundation for fruitful reflection. Instead, the book makes sweeping claims without adequate evidence. It Is Right and Just will disappoint any serious student of American politics and, worse, may mislead well-intended American Catholics searching for a more just polity for themselves and their children.

This article responds to the theory of Common Good Constitutionalism as posited by Adrian Vermeule. He argues that a powerful centralized government composed of wise rulers must use law to direct the public towards a proper political and substantive morality to achieve the ends of the common good. This article then explores the broader concept of Integralism, in which Common Good Constitutionalism is rooted, similar in its belief that politics must be concerned with the human good through the centralization of sovereign power. Natural law adherents created Common Good Constitutionalism and Integralism to combat the legitimate societal threat of modern liberal individualism and reintroduce the spiritual common good into our political and legal discourse. Though these arguments have some appeal, both theories are misguided in their understanding of the nature of politics, law, and the United States as a constitutional republic. This article instead suggests a more authentically Catholic salve for the societal wounds inflicted by acidic individualism; a true natural law understanding of the common good which respects the decentralized history and tradition of our country, the limits of political authority, the social priority of local communities above the state, and most importantly, the reality that man’s ultimate end is God’s gift of salvation.