Faith of Our Fathers traces the historical journey of American Catholics from a minority despised by the founding fathers to a valuable and accepted part of the American tapestry today. Author Edward Mannino, an historian and lawyer, demonstrates how Catholics have continuously functioned as a conscience in the broader American society, and surveys the contributions Catholics have made in the arts, in politics, in law, and in education and public health. Faith of Our Fathers contains chapters on Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Fulton Sheen, Bruce Springsteen, Denise Levertov and John Berryman in the arts; Al Smith, Michael Harrington, and Robert Kennedy in politics; Catholic Supreme Court justices in law; and American nuns in education and public health. The book ends with a chapter on the portrayal of American Catholics in popular culture, showing how movies and television programs from the mid twentieth century through the present reflect a growing appreciation of the Catholic presence in America.

Faith of Our Fathers traces the historical journey of American Catholics from a minority despised by the founding fathers to a valuable and accepted part of the American tapestry today. Author Edward Mannino, an historian and lawyer, demonstrates how Catholics have continuously functioned as a conscience in the broader American society, and surveys the contributions Catholics have made in the arts, in politics, in law, and in education and public health. Faith of Our Fathers contains chapters on Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Fulton Sheen, Bruce Springsteen, Denise Levertov and John Berryman in the arts; Al Smith, Michael Harrington, and Robert Kennedy in politics; Catholic Supreme Court justices in law; and American nuns in education and public health. The book ends with a chapter on the portrayal of American Catholics in popular culture, showing how movies and television programs from the mid twentieth century through the present reflect a growing appreciation of the Catholic presence in America.

In the Senate Confirmation Hearings on his nomination, Chief Justice John Roberts memorably stated that he believed that the proper role of judges is "to call balls and strikes," an analogy repeated by Justice Kavanaugh in his hearings. This book makes clear, however, that the justices have often changed the strike zone. They have overruled past precedent, significantly expanded or limited prior rulings, created new constitutional rights such as that protecting same-sex marriage, while striking down constitutional rights recognized for many years, including a woman's right to choose an abortion. The book carefully reviews some 200 cases, highlighting what the justices themselves have said in explaining their rulings. It also notes how the dissenting opinions are particularly valuable in explaining the dissenters' often accurate contentions that some decisions significantly changed prior precedent. The book begins with cases decided in the 19th and 20th centuries to give the background of the constitutional issues discussed, but the overall focus is on 21st-century decisions since they have accelerated changes in constitutional law.