Applicant Bryan J.

Browns Creedal Statement

These three pages are responsive to pages 29 - 30 from the Indiana Board of Law Examiners September 25, 2009 final report concluding that I lacked fitness due to my views on God, conscience and the State. That report followed questions put to me by government assigned mental health agents as to my political and religious views and the question asked of me on the record at my June 2009 hearing, to wit, whether I would place Gods law above mans law or rather the opposite. I have been informed by an Indiana attorney of high standing to be prepared for subsequent questions regarding my world view and perspective on God versus government. This is my statement on that question -- I intend to give no other.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace) rather teaches:
399. The right to conscientious objection Citizens are not obligated in conscience to follow the prescriptions of civil authorities if their precepts are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or to the teachings of the Gospel. Unjust laws pose dramatic problems of conscience for morally upright people: when they are called to cooperate in morally evil acts they must refuse. Besides being a moral duty, such a refusal is also a basic human right which, precisely as such, civil law itself is obliged to recognize and protect. Those who have recourse to conscientious objection must be protected not only from legal penalties but also from any negative effects on the legal, disciplinary, financial and professional p lane.

I am duty-bound as a Roman Catholic to uphold and pass on to my children this ancient teaching, including the following:
It is a grave duty of conscience not to cooperate, not even formally, in practices which, although permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to the Law of God. Such cooperation in fact can never be justified, not by invoking respect for the freedom of others nor by appealing to the fact that it is foreseen and required by civil law. No one can escape the moral responsibility for actions taken, and all will be judged by God himself based on this responsibility (cf. Rom 2:6; 14:12).

Applicant Bryan J. Browns Creedal Statement

The 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church is the second major catechism in the 2000 year history of the Church. I am pledged in solemn obedience to follow these dictates, as are all of my fellow Catholics:

2242 The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Refusing obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience, finds its justification in the distinction between serving God and serving the political community. Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods.48 We must obey God rather than men:49 When citizens are under the oppression of a public authority which oversteps its competence, they should still not refuse to give or to do what is objectively demanded of them by the common good; but it is legitimate for them to defend their own rights and those of their fellow citizens against the abuse of this authority within the limits of the natural law and the Law of the Gospel.50 2256 Citizens are obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). 2257 Every societys judgments and conduct reflect a vision of man and his destiny. Without the light the Gospel sheds on God and man, societies easily become totalitarian.
I am currently reading Worshipping the State: How Liberalism Because our State Religion by Benjamin Wiker, Ph.D. The dedication page of this scholarly work reads as follows:

But the truth is that it is only by believing in God that we can ever criticise the Government. Once abolish the God, and the Government becomes the God. The fact is written all across human history; but it is written more plainly across that recent history of Russia; which was created by Lenin. There the Government is the God, and all the more the God, because it proclaims aloud in accents of thunder, like every other God worth worshipping, the one essential commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." ...The truth is that Irreligion is the opium of the people. Wherever the people do not believe in something beyond the world, they will worship the world. But, above all, they will worship the strongest thing in the world. And, by the very nature of the Bolshevist and many other modern systems, as well as by the practical working of almost any system, the State will be strongest thing in the world. - G.K. Chesterton, Christendom in Dublin (1932)
Against a State claiming such strength I must stand opposed. Such was the duty of my ancient fore bearers against pagan Rome, against dialectical materialism and against statist secularism. To quote a well respected Christian leader of centuries past who was caught in a similar dilemma, Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

Applicant Bryan J. Browns Creedal Statement

All of that said, I do stand prepared to swear the oath incumbent upon Indiana attorneys and fulfill the same and defend the Indiana constitution, without reservation.
IC 33-43-1-1 Version a Oath Note: This version of section effective until 7-1-2014. See also following version of this section, effective 7-1-2014. Sec. 1. (a) A person, before proceeding to discharge the duties of an attorney, shall take an oath to: (1) support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana; and (2) faithfully and honestly discharge the duties of an attorney at law. (b) The oath taken under subsection (a) must be entered in the order book of the court. As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.22. IC 33-43-1-1 Version b Practice of law by attorneys; officer of the court Note: This version of section effective 7-1-2014. See also preceding version of this section, effective until 7-1-2014. Sec. 1. (a) A person, before proceeding to discharge the duties of an attorney, shall take an oath to: (1) support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana; and (2) faithfully and honestly discharge the duties of an attorney at law. (b) The oath taken under subsection (a) must be entered in the order book of the court. (c) A duly sworn attorney who is not otherwise disqualified to practice law is an officer of the court. As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.158-2013, SEC.346.

I can swear this oath without violating my conscience or jeopardizing my religion. I have been licensed to practice law by the State of Kansas since 1996 without any conflict between my religion and my service to the government. I applaud the Founders of the State of Indiana for their (less than completely successful) attempt to ensure that those of my religious persuasion are not discriminated against on the basis of religion.
ARTICLE 1. Bill of Rights Section 1. Inherent rights Section 1. WE DECLARE, That all people are created equal; that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that all power is inherent in the People; and that all free governments are, and of right ought to be, founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and well-being. For the advancement of these ends, the People have, at all times, an indefeasible right to alter and reform their government. (History: As Amended November 6, 1984). Section 2. Right to worship Section 2. All people shall be secured in the natural right to worship ALMIGHTY GOD, according to the dictates of their own consciences. (History: As Amended November 6, 1984). Section 3. Freedom of religious opinions Section 3. No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience. Section 4. Freedom of religion Section 4. No preference shall be given, by law, to any creed, religious society, or mode of worship; and no person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support, any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against his consent. (History: As Amended November 6, 1984). Section 5. No religious test for office Section 5. No religious test shall be required, as a qualification for any office of trust or profit.