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The arguments about the US Constitution get resolved in conservative’s favor by looking at the original intent of the framers of the Constitution. In order to do so one has to examine the Federalist Papers, their memoirs, their letters, etc. just like the Catholic Church resolves disputes about the scripture by looking at what St. Irenaeus, St. Ignatius, St. Cyprian, St. Justin Martyr and others wrote in 1-3c. You guys are innovators, not us.

No, I'm afraid that in this comparison the Catholic Church is clearly on the liberal side. :) First, let us assume that the conservative view is in strict constructionism and the liberal view is in a "living" document.

Now, how does a conservative determine the intent of a Constitutional provision? He looks to the writings of the drafters. He does not look to op-eds in the local papers near that time or to the what the current polls say 200+ years later. However, if the liberal does not like where that leads then he most certainly looks to outside sources, wherever he can find them. They include what outside writers had to say at the time, plus whatever the then modern "mood" seems to be.

So, with the Bible the conservative looks to the writings of the drafter. Well, since all scripture is God-breathed, and no other writing is God-breathed, the conservative would have to look at other scripture ONLY to determine the intent. The drafter would be comparable to God. But, the liberal, if he did not like the result, would look immediately to outside writers, who were not inspired by the drafter to get the intent. These would be the Fathers of your Church. In addition, the modern "mood" would be determined by all the Papal pronouncements ex-cathedra throughout the ages. In Catholicism, the Bible is a living document, and interpretations are made to fit the tradition of the time. We just saw recently the one about the title of "Vicar of Christ". The Marion dogmas would be another example.

The conservative sticks with the original. The liberal adds more to it than was ever there OR intended, in order to CHANGE it. God gave us His revelation in the scriptures and specifically told us NOT to add to it (Pr 30:5,6; Rev 22:18,19; Deut 4:2). Unfortunately, this has nevertheless been done by some.

how does a conservative determine the intent of a Constitutional provision? He looks to the writings of the drafters

Exactly: the Federalist papers, the letters, etc., which explain the original intent of the constitutional clauses. We refer to the Fathers of the Chruch in the same way: they explain the intended meaning of the scripture.

Nothing in the later pronouncements, papal and consiliar, may contradict the earlier doctrine. One cannot get more conservative than that.