American institutions have been reduced in recent times, but the law has a useful role in renewing their significance, said the archbishop of Chicago Thursday.

In the courtroom of the Notre Dame Law School, Cardinal Francis George commissioned the room of mostly law students to strengthen the three "necessary" institutions of religion, marriage and the family.

"You carry the culture in ways that are normative to the rest of us," George said.

The cardinal, who has doctoral degrees in both philosophy and theology, analyzed the relationship between civic law and U.S. institutions in his lecture titled "Law and Culture." He warned that the emphasis on the individual is destroying those institutions that promote the common good while suggesting that the law "enter into a partnership with these institutions."

Furthermore, he highlighted the subjugation of religion, specifically the Catholic Church, by an individualistic American culture, as well as the recent priest abuse scandals.

"The Church is now weakened institutionally," said George.

Referring to his diocese, which covers Cooke and Lake Counties of Illinois, he pointed out its statistics on sacraments. Unlike baptisms, confirmations and funerals, he said marriages have "plummeted" as people have lost faith in it or decided to participate in civil ceremonies instead. Coinciding with lowered marriage rates in the diocese, he criticized no-fault divorces.

"This is troubling," he said.

George, who has also studied the diversity of human culture, also shared how the American society is unique in its relationship with the law, calling it a "culture carrier in the United States."

Quoting several academics including cultural anthropologists and philosophers, the cardinal called on the law to use its unique position to revitalize American cultural institutions. "We need civil law more than ever to protect us in our institutions," he said.

In 1997, George became the first native of Chicago to serve as its archbishop. Before his appointment, George was the archbishop of Portland, Ore. and the bishop of Yakima, Wash. He also taught at Tulane University and Creighton University and served in Rome as vicar general of his order from 1974 to 1986.

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