Reflections on Breen & Strang's A Light Unseen: A History of Catholic Legal Education in the United States

(Excerpt) In A Light Unseen: A History of Catholic Legal Education in the United States, Professor John Breen and Professor Lee Strang have undertaken a monumental task and have produced an impressive book, particularly with respect to the fascinating history of the development of Catholic legal education. They provide a thoughtful consideration of how Catholic law schools can be more distinctively Catholic and make a strong case for the critical need for more explicit curricular and scholarly integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition. In this Essay, I make suggestions in three areas: (1) on the record regarding failed efforts to develop a distinctly Catholic approach to legal education; (2) on the inculturation of the Catholic intellectual tradition within the law school; and (3) on the virtues shaping the Catholic law school professional ethics curriculum.