Catholic social teaching is a treasure trove of wisdom regarding the proper structure of a just society and the way to live a holy life. The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a just and moral vision for society. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions and they must be supported. The Catechism o f the Catholic Church says that the family is the original cell of social life. Any just society cares for its children. Under the doctrine of subsidiarity, the first right and responsibility falls to the parents and the family. Unfortunately, there are times when society feels the need to intervene. No one can doubt that there are times when this is necessary. The problem is the difficulty of assessing the needs of a family unit from the outside. My first professional interaction with the child protective system (CPS) came years ago when, as a fairly new law professor, I was asked to work on the appeal of the Kelly Michaels case. Kelly was a daycare worker at a nursery school in New Jersey. She had been convicted of sexual abuse of thirty-three children, and she was sentenced to fortyseven years imprisonment.