58th Annual Red Mass and Saint Thomas More Award Dinner

Monday, October 5, 2009, at 5:15 p.m.

The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul

18th and Ben Franklin Parkway

Philadelphia, PA

Principal Celebrant and Homilist

His Eminence, Justin Cardinal Rigali, J.C.D.

Archbishop of Philadelphia

2009 Saint Thomas More Award Recipient

Father Thomas Betz, Esq., OFM Cap

Dinner and Award Ceremony to follow (approx. 7:00 pm)

The Union League

140 S. Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA

Dinner Tickets

$125 per person

$1,250 for table of 10

Send payment to:

Villanova University School of Law

c/o Nicole Garafano

299 North Spring Mill Road, RM 223

Villanova, PA 19085

garafano@law.villanova.edu

(Make checks payable to "St. Thomas More Society of Philadelphia")

Membership

Click the image below to open and print our Membership Application Form.

Officers

President:
John “Jack” Duffy, Esquire
Law Offices of Thomas Patrick Fay

Vice President:
Robert T. Miller, Esquire
Associate Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law

Treasurer:
Alan Ross, Esquire
Retired

Secretary:
Michael D. O’Mara, Esquire
Partner, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

Corresponding Secretary:
Robert G. Bellwoar, Esquire
Partner, Law Offices of Schubert Bellwoar

Saint Thomas More Award

The Saint Thomas More Award is presented by the Society annually to a member of the legal profession whose accomplishments in some way represent the principles and ideals of St. Thomas More. The inscription on the award reads as follows:

St. Thomas More. Attorney - Public Servant - Jurist - Scholar - Teacher. A practitioner of his Catholic religion, he combined an intense concern for the problems of his day with a personal moral commitment.

And he placed obedience to his conscience over blind obedience to governmental authority.

Presented by the St. Thomas More Society of Philadelphia in recognition of traits held by St. Thomas More.

SAINT THOMAS MORE AWARD RECIPIENTS

2008 - Honorable Robert P. Casey, Jr. United States Senator; pro-life advocate.

2007 - Honorable Antonin Scalia. Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

2006 - Mark A. Sargent. Dean of Villanova Law School, active in Catholic legal community.

2005 - C. Clark Hodgson, Jr. Civil trial lawyer, recipient of Papal honors.

2004 - Gerard J. St. John. Civil trial lawyer, past president of the Saint Thomas More Society.

2003 - Honorable Anthony J. Scirica. Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

2002 - Rev. Mr. Clement J. McGovern, Jr. Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County; permanent deacon.

2001 - John J. Cahill, Jr. Estates lawyer; past president and long time member of the Saint Thomas More Society; Board member: Calcutta House.

2000 - Mary DeFusco. Public Defender; also active in several Catholic lay groups.

1999 - Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua. Archbishop of Philadelphia; a graduate of St. John’s Law School; active in immigration law.

1998 - Honorable Rick Santorum. United States Senator.

1997 - Frank P. Cervone. Executive Director, Support Center for Child Advocates.

1996 - James A. Strazzella. Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law; former president, St. Thomas More Society.

1995 - J. Willard O’Brien. Dean of Villanova Law School; Professor of Law.

1994 - John Rogers Carroll. Criminal trial lawyer; founding member of Lawyers Helping Lawyers and other organizations addressing problems of alcohol and drug abuse.

1993 - Honorable Lisa Aversa Richette. Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia; active in charitable activities focused on the needs of homeless women; author regarding juvenile justice.

1992 - Honorable Robert P. Casey. Governor of Pennsylvania; outspoken pro-life advocate.

1991 - William Bentley Ball. Appellate lawyer well known for his participation in landmark religious rights cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, first executive director and general counsel of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, former professor of law at Villanova Law School, recipient of Papal honors.

1990 - Honorable Genevieve Blatt. Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania; the first woman to win a statewide election for judicial office in Pennsylvania and, prior to that election was the first woman to win statewide election for any governmental office, a member of the Board of Managers for the 41st Eucharistic Congress (1976), recipient of Papal honors.

1989 - Thomas M. Schubert. A lawyer in general practice who represented and assisted many Catholic religious organizations.

1988 - Harold Gill Reuschlein. Founding Dean, Villanova Law School, recipient of Papal honors.

1987 - Bro. Bartholomew A. Sheehan, S.J. Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey; member, New Jersey Assembly; general counsel, Camden Trust Company; President, Camden County Bar Association; Jesuit Lay Brother, recipient of Papal honors.

1986 - Honorable Carol Los Mansmann. Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

1985 - William D. Valente. Professor of Law, Villanova Law School; active in Catholic legal community.

1984 - James L. J. Pie’. First Deputy City Solicitor; identified with many Catholic causes and organizations.

1983 - Honorable Armand Della Porta. Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania; advocate for Philadelphia Catholic Schools, recipient of Papal honors.

1982 - John R. McConnell. Trial lawyer who handled primarily defense matters in civil cases; adjunct professor of trial techniques, Temple University School of Law; Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association.

The Red Mass

The Red Mass is offered for the legal profession at the beginning of the judicial year to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, strength and hope. The name “Red Mass” comes from the color of the vestments of the clergy and, originally as well, from the robes of the assembled judges and scholars.

The red vestments of the clergy recall that the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and disciples in the form of tongues of fire on Pentecost Sunday. Judicial robes in Europe, where the tradition began, are often a brilliant scarlet. Similarly, the academic robes of professors with doctorate degrees in law were a bright red. Although Masses invoking the Holy Spirit are celebrated on other occasions, notably at the beginning of the academic year at universities, the historic predominance of red at the opening of the judicial year has identified the name “Red Mass” almost exclusively with the Eucharistic liturgy celebrated at that time.

The tradition began during the thirteenth century in several European countries. In England, the Red Mass is celebrated on a date close to September 29, Michaelmas (the feast of St. Michael), which is the first day of the fall court sessions. In the United States, the Red Mass is celebrated around that date in many dioceses and, on occasion, in connection with bar association activities. In Philadelphia, the tradition began in 1952, when the Red Mass opened the 150th Anniversary celebration of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

The St. Thomas More Society of Philadelphia sponsored Philadelphia’s first Red Mass in 1952 at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. An overflow crowd heard Archbishop O'Hara deliver a homily on "The Natural Law." It was such a magnificent occasion that the officers of the Society quickly laid plans to assure that the tradition would be continued. Ever since, the annual Red Mass has been the Society's most visible activity.

Mission Statement

The Saint Thomas More Society of Philadelphia seeks to promote and foster high ethical principles in the legal profession generally and, in particular, in the community of Catholic lawyers; it provides a Catholic voice on issues of relevance to judges, lawyers, public officials, and law students; and, above all, the Society encourages its members to apply the following ideals exemplified by Saint Thomas More in both their personal and professional lives:

• The legal profession is a high calling with corresponding responsibilities to society;

• The principal objective of every lawyer is to promote and seek justice; and

• The duty of a Catholic lawyer is to remain faithful to the teachings of the Church, at all times, regardless of personal consequences.

Gest Forum

The John B. Gest Forum

In the early 1960’s, the Society sponsored presentations on a monthly basis pertaining to the important religious, ethical, and moral issues of the day. The events were organized by John B. Gest, a former president of the Society who spent a substantial amount of his time on the affairs of the Society and other charitable activities.

The Board of Governors re-established a yearly lecture forum in the mid-1970’s and named the annual event in honor of John B. Gest, who had placed great emphasis on luncheon discussions of an intellectual nature. With the exception of 1985 and 2001, when the demands of private practice of law precluded its scheduling, the Gest Forum has been an annual event. Traditionally, attorneys who attend the Gest Forum receive one CLE credit in Ethics. Past Gest Forum speakers and their topics are listed below.

John B. Gest Forum Speakers and Topics

2009 - Rev. William J. Byron, S.J., “Reflections on Organizational Ethics in the New Corporate Culture.”

2008 - Rev. George W. Rutler, "Public Law and Private Conscience.”

2007 - Robert P. George, J.D., D. Phil., “The Bioethics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research”

2006 - Rev. Richard John Neuhas, Editor-in-Chief of First Things, “Higher and Lowers Laws – and the Lawyers in Between.”

2005 - Mark A. Sargent, Dean of Villanova Law School, “What it means to be a Catholic Law School.”

Archbishop John P. Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, “The Death of Pope John Paul II and the Election of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI”

2004 - Robert K. Vischer, J.D., Assistant Professor, St. John's University School of Law, “Can a Good Lawyer be a Good Catholic (and Still Make a Living)?”

2003 - George Weigel, Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, biographer of Pope John Paul II, “Christian and Political Participation: Testing the Boundaries – Legall, Moral and Ethical Issues.”

2002 - Fr. Canice Connors, OFM Conv., Provincial of the Conventual Franciscan Fathers, “The Church in Crisis – Legal,, Moral & Ethical Issues.”

2000 - Reverend J. Bryan Hehir, Speaker

1999 - Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Titular Archbishop of Vadesi, “Human Rights.”

1997 - John Bookser Feiser, “The Legacy of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.”

1996 - Rev. George W. Rutler, “Legislating Morality.”

1995 - Sister Mary Jean Audette, SUSC, “The Civil Law Challenges to Not-For-Profit Corporations Governed by Canon Law.”

1994 - Dr. John Haas, “The Splendor of Truth: A Journey of Conscience in Freedom and Truth, not Freedom or Truth.”

1993 - Rev. Donald Clifford, S.J., “Jews and Christians: A Concrete Experience.”

1992 - Archpriest Mark Shinn, “How the Christian Churches Survived Under Communism in the Former Soviet Union.”

1991 - Professor Walter J. Wadlington, “Deciding About Children's Medical Care: Tensions Between Patients, Parents and the State.”

1990 - Professor G. Robert Blakey , “RICO Reform: Mother of Mercy, Is this the End of RICO?”

1989 - Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, “Judicial Selection and the Pursuit of Justice – Observations on Questions Judges May Take a Lifetime to Answer.”

1988 - Professor Charles E. Rice, “Private Conscience and Public Responsibility.”

1987 - Professor Paul C. Vitz, Ph.D., “Textbooks and Public Education -- The Broad Implications of the Alabama and Tennessee Textbooks Cases.”

1986 - Dr. Edward Viner, M. Mark Mendell, and Professor William Werpehowski, “Death & Dying – The Legal Aspects.”

1984 - Dean Richard G. Huber, “How Does the Message of the Separation of Church and State Affect the Implementation of Religious Values in our Society?”

1983 - Dean Willard O'Brien, “Judges, Jurisprudence and Justice: An Umpire is Neutral, A Judge is a Player.”

1982 - Honorable John J. Gibbons and Craig Stern, “Of Abortion, Busing and Other Controversies: Should Congress Be Able To Limit Judicial Jurisdiction If It Thinks The Supreme Court Is Wrong”

1981 - Judge Edward B. Rosenberg, Professor William D. Valente, “Law, Morals and the Family.”

1980 - Judge Joseph F. Weis, Jr., Professor Paul Bender, “What Do You Do When the Supreme Court is Wrong?”

1978 - Jonathan L. Goldstein, Perry S. Bechtle, Peter J. Liacouras, and Leonard P. Garry, C.P.C.V., “The Criminal, Disciplinary and Liability Pitfalls of Unethical Legal Practice.”