September 29, 2010

Red Mass honors legal profession

By John Gleason

Catholic lawyers, judges and law professionals attended the annual Red Mass Sept. 26 to ask the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they pursue their work.

Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley was the main celebrant of the Mass, which was held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver. Organized by the Denver Archdiocese’s Office of Liturgy, Mass attendees included members of the Catholic Lawyers Guild and the St. Thomas More Society of Colorado. 

The Red Mass, which traces its origins to 13th-century Paris when Pope Innocent IV celebrated it for the Ecclesial Judicial Court, invokes the Holy Spirit as a source of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude and strength for the coming term.  It became a tradition in England to mark the beginning of each new court term. 

The color red, traditionally the color of the vestments worn by the priests at a Red Mass, represents the Holy Spirit, particularly in the tongues of fire that descended on the Apostles.  The Mass was first celebrated in the United States in 1928 and now is held annually to mark the beginning of the Supreme Court’s term. 

In his homily Bishop Conley said the red vestments also recall the blood of martyrs, particularly of St. Thomas More, patron of lawyers.

“During his recent visit to Great Britain, when the Holy Father delivered his message to the members of Parliament in Westminster Hall, which is the same hall where St. Thomas More was condemned to death, he noted that if our laws are simply determined by social consensus and nothing more, then we risk a kind of 'dictatorship of relativism',” Bishop Conley told the Denver Catholic Register. “The pope referred to a law written on the heart of every human person—a natural law, written by God, the Creator, from which all human law flows."

During the Mass, two members of the legal profession were recognized by the Catholic Lawyer’s Guild for their service to their profession and their faith:  Denver District Attorney Mitchell R. Morrissey was presented with the St. Thomas More Award, which goes to a person who exemplifies the intellect, integrity and moral courage of St. Thomas More in service to God, family and profession; Judge Gerald Rafferty was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, given to lawyers for outstanding lifetime contributions to religion, profession and country. 

Morrissey has been the district attorney of Denver since 2005.  He’s worked on behalf of the citizens of Denver for more than 20 years as an attorney in the Denver DA’s office; more than half of that time as a chief deputy.   He was selected Prosecutor of the Year in 2001 by the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council, and has taught on a variety of subjects for the council and the Denver Police Department, including demonstrative evidence, rules of evidence, gang prosecutions, violent crime and DNA.

Rafferty has been a district court judge in the 18th Judicial District. He is a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy.  He served as a pilot in the Air Force from 1967 to 1972.  Following a stint with the FBI in Chicago where he specialized in police corruption cases, he served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1978 to 1995.  He has taught at the University of Denver Law School and was appointed to the district court bench by Gov. Bill Owens in 1999.

The St. Thomas More Society of Colorado (www.lawyers4allseasons.org) was formed by a group of Colorado lawyers to promote the intellectual and spiritual welfare of lawyers and jurists in the state through education, service, social justice, respect for life, prayer and community. The society is open to all Colorado civil and canon lawyers and jurists.

The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Colorado (www.coloradocatholiclawyers.com) exists to foster the ideals of Catholic lawyers practicing in a secular environment. The guild further exists to promote fellowship; provide spiritual guidance and support; facilitate education on legal, moral and ethical issues; and promote social service and contributions to charitable causes for the common good.