Asking about a person's religious beliefs in a judicial confirmation hearing is fair, but what Senator Feinstein did was imply, by the way she posed her questions and the lack of follow-up, that simply being Catholic is incompatible with serving on the federal bench. That's not fair, nor is it accurate.

I also take exception to Feinstein's statement to Prof. Barrett that "When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that's of concern..." There's absolutely nothing about Catholic dogma that is incompatible with U.S. law, and I would defy the senator to offer evidence to the contrary.

Amy Coney Barrett may or may not be a worthy candidate for the bench. I'm even open to the argument that her views on abortion might be extreme enough to disqualify her. But Feinstein's implication that she should be disqualified just because she's a faithful Catholic is beyond the pale and shouldn't be taken lightly.