The St. Thomas More Society of Arkansas and the Pulaski County Bar Association are hosting an interfaith prayer breakfast at 8 a.m. Thursday, May 1 at McDonald Hall of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. Bishop Anthony B. Taylor and speakers from the Arkansas faith community will pray for peace in families, cities and the world. The cost is $20. Reservations are due by April 29. It is open to judges, attorneys, government workers, law professors and law students. Register at http://www.tinyurl.com/LawWeekPrayerBreakfast. For more information, contact Deacon Jim Goodhart at jamesgoodhart@gmail.com.

Attorneys, judges and elected officials prayed together in Little Rock for Law Week in Arkansas.

McDonald Hall at Little Rock’s Cathedral of St. Andrew was the setting for the 2023 Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, May 4, hosted by the St. Thomas More Society of Arkansas and Pulaski County Bar Association. The annual breakfast coincided with Law Week in Arkansas, under the banner “Surround with Justice, Embrace with Grace.” The theme was reinforced by the slate of speakers, which included clergy from five different faith traditions.

“Gathering together under this beautiful theme coming from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great reminder of a sermon … where he used the philosopher Hegel and his system of dialectical logic,” said Father Rubén Quinteros, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in North Little Rock (Marche) and St. Mary Church in North Little Rock. “Dr. King got the inspiration from this philosopher as an analogy of the synthesis which reconciles with two outstretched arms, ‘One is strong enough to surround us with justice, and one is gentle enough to embrace us with grace.’

“Pope Francis mentioned last year in a speech to lawyers that ‘Justice must always accompany the search for peace, which presupposes truth and freedom.’ This human and spiritual search, which is innate or distinctive to every human being, must find its fulfillment in truth and freedom. This is the field where justice is imparted and where grace is found.”

Father Quinteros was joined on the dais by Rabbi Mark Biller of the Congregation Agudath Achim in Little Rock and Rev. Joseph Bittle of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Little Rock, who noted the courage it often takes to pursue peace even as one seeks justice.

“One of the things I often emphasize with newcomers to our church … is that we start with and often return to the petition for peace, and that we are first of all seeking the gift of the ‘peace from above’, not that which we, on our own steam, can create from below,” he said. “That peace we are petitioning for isn’t simply the absence of conflict. Peace, biblically speaking, is much broader than that … which is to say, things ordered in creation as the Creator ordered them to be, things as God designed them.

“As human beings, lawyers or not, we must do the legwork for justice, bringing grace, but ultimately for justice and grace to blend together in truth, in the peace that is Shalom, and we must seek that from above all the while treading the difficult and often personally perilous way of being ‘The King’s good servant, but God’s first,’ This may cause us to find ourselves in the King’s disfavor, but if so, so be it.”

Also delivering remarks were Rev. Brittany Richardson-Watson of First United Methodist Church in Little Rock and Bishop Phoebe Roaf of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee in Memphis, who called for a new era of kindness and understanding toward those who are disadvantaged or recovering from poor choices.

“What a society prioritizes is demonstrated not in the status of those of us who are blessed with access to resources, but in how the most vulnerable members of society are treated. When we’re at our lowest, how do others respond to us? Are we forever seen as our worst mistake?” she said. “I wonder if Americans have lost our empathy for the suffering of others. All of us have blind spots and a little humility can go a long way. Discussing options with a diverse group raises issues that we may miss if we are deliberating on our own. That may sound simple, but it’s difficult in these highly polarized times.

“Brothers and sisters, we’re all Americans! We’re on the same team, and we’re going to sink together or swim together. Having an open heart and mind, a willingness to consider different perspectives and a spirit of humility are prerequisites of the important work you are engaged in. We find ourselves in an era where now more than ever we need courageous men and women to step forward and embody our Judeo-Christian ethics.”

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Bishop Anthony B. Taylor reminded legal and political figures attending the annual Red Mass of the importance of the yoke, the law as it was referred to in the Bible, and to be guided by the Holy Spirit, “yoked above all to the Lord.”

“True to the laws of our land but exercised in a way that is true also to that higher law, never losing sight of the humanity of the person you are dealing with, always remembering that human laws are at the service of truth and goodness and so need to be applied in a human way,” he said.

The 25th annual Red Mass and luncheon was held Oct. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew. Hosted by the St. Thomas More Society, the Mass is meant to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit for those in law and public service. Attorney Charles Baker, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, was awarded the annual St. Thomas More award.

The luncheon’s keynote speaker, U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes, was also honored with a surprise second St. Thomas More award for his contributions to law upon his retirement Sept. 30. 

In 2018, the society opened its membership to Catholics who have a variety of legal or political careers and Catholic citizens who have an interest in St. Thomas More. Society president Shawn Johnson said the society has about 200 members.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor was the celebrant, along with concelebrants Father Greg Luyet, diocesan judicial vicar and chaplain for the society, Father Jack Vu, rector of the Cathedral, Father Aby Abraham, IMS, associate pastor of the Cathedral, and Msgr. Francis I. Malone, diocesan chancellor for ecclesial affairs and adjutant judicial vicar. Also serving were Deacons Bud Bryant of Pine Bluff and Matthew Glover, diocesan chancellor for canonical affairs, who both have civil law degrees. 

In his homily, Bishop Taylor emphasized that on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the saint reminds people of the “human dimension of justice.”

“And while it is true that no human law and no human legal system is perfect, we should remember that beyond a certain point, unjust laws lose their binding force. Legislation must be at the service of truth and goodness, such that in extreme cases of injustice we are obligated to disobey such laws or at least find a way around them,” Bishop Taylor said. “We saw that in the civil disobedience that was part of the struggle to shake off the yoke of extremely unjust Jim Crow Laws in the struggle for civil rights.”

At the end of Mass, Bishop Taylor blessed the St. Thomas More pins, designed in 2017 by liturgical artist George Hoelzeman, for new members.

Frank B. Sewall, an insurance attorney and last year’s award recipient, introduced Baker, detailing his 11 years as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, his work with Rose Law Firm since 1984 and his dedication to his parish. Throughout the years, Baker has been active in Men’s Club, the Knights of Columbus, taught religious education and was a eucharistic minister to the sick.

“Like Thomas More, Charlie has deep love for his family. When he’s asked about his proudest accomplishments in life, Charlie immediately says his five successful Catholic grown children,” along with his wife Nancy and his grandchildren, Sewall said.

Baker told Arkansas Catholic, “I just appreciate the recognition my fellow lawyers gave me and my fellow Catholics. I’ve tried to do, as a lawyer and judge, what the good Lord wanted me to do.”

Holmes’ speech focused on the storied life of St. Thomas More, delving beyond his work and martyrdom into his personal faith and the lessons that can still be learned from his example.

“Here’s what I misunderstood: I had assumed that Thomas More was a saint because he was a martyr. What I discovered in studying his life is that he was able to be a martyr because he had already become a saint,” he said.

Holmes was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2004. Holmes and his wife Susan attend Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock. He chronicled his conversion to Catholicism in the 2016 book “The Cross My Only Hope.”

Lisa Cox, his legal secretary for 19 years who retired along with him, said, “Working for him made me a better person. He’s a wonderful man, loves his family. He’s always approachable, kind, a brilliant legal mind.”

Glover, who previously clerked for Holmes, introduced him as the keynote speaker, likening the judge, who earned the respect and admiration of his peers regardless of partisan lines, to St. Francis of Assisi in his approachability and compassion.

Holmes explained that while the crises in the Catholic Church, including sexual abuse, people leaving the faith and Catholics not believing in key tenets of the faith, have been described by some as a “crisis of saints,” it’s a misleading concept.

“The crisis of the Church is a crisis of being conformed to the world, of not being transformed by the renewal of our minds. It is a crisis of the Church as a whole, from top to bottom, clerics and laity,” he said. “As Christian lawyers and judges, we can do our part to address the crisis in the Church by following St. Thomas More” and the characteristics of his life, describing him as a man of the Bible, Church, prayer, fasting, penance and self-denial, for the poor, of faith and love for his persecutors.

“If we pray for and cooperate with the grace to imitate Thomas More in these seven ways, we will not be conformed to this world. Instead, we will be transformed by the renewal of our minds, and we will prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor emphasized to the judges, lawyers, politicians and other public servants present for the 24th annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock “the importance of our coming humbly before our all-powerful, all-knowing Lord today to ask him to fill us with the strength of the Holy Spirit necessary to fulfill our duties with courage and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit we need to use good judgment in all that we do.”

The Oct. 5 Red Mass, sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society, is meant to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for those in law and public service careers. Bishop Taylor was the celebrant, along with concelebrants Father Greg Luyet, judicial vicar and chaplain for the society, and Father Jack Vu, rector of the Cathedral. Deacon Bud Bryant, a lawyer, also served. At the end of Mass, Bishop Taylor blessed St. Thomas More lapel pins, designed by local liturgical artist George Hoelzeman, which were revealed last year.

Each year, the society hosts a luncheon following the Mass, which honors a member with the St. Thomas More Award. Frank B. Sewall, an attorney for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Arkansas, was this year’s honoree.

There are currently 300 members and about 50 are active participants in the society. 

Lawyers and judges uphold the foundation of the American justice system and for those who are Catholic, being a member of the St. Thomas More Society provides a moral guideline. But every person, a politician, voter or someone who works for justice can benefit from the teachings of St. Thomas More, which is why the society hopes to expand its reach. 

“Our Church teachings are what we are turning to, we’re making no bones about that,” said Little Rock attorney and St. Thomas More Society president Shawn Johnson. “Our Catholic Church teachings help form and guide us.”

The St. Thomas More Society in Arkansas began in 1999 with the celebration of the Red Mass, a special Mass held for lawyers, judges and government officials to “come together and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our work,” said Cathedral of St. Andrew parishioner Connie Brown Phillips, an adjunct law professor at the Bowen School of Law in Little Rock who chairs the Red Mass Committee.

The society was founded to keep the Red Mass going. Arkansas’ Red Mass coincides with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Red Mass the first week in October.

Beyond lawyers, judges and canon lawyers, society bylaws were amended this year to include Catholics who fill other roles in legal or political professions, anyone from paralegals to lobbyists, and the average Catholic citizen who is interested in the life and ministry of St. Thomas More.

“We felt we wanted it to be very inclusive of the other members of the laity as well as the priesthood,” said Johnson, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Holy Souls in Little Rock. “… Lawyers tend to be viewed as an exclusive club. Our Church and participation in our faith is not that way. This is the way to unite the two.”

The patron saint of those in legal and government professions, St. Thomas More was a lawyer and literary scholar, as well as a father and chancellor of England, according to franciscanmedia.org. He refused to support King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and would not sign the 1534 Act of Succession, which in part acknowledged King Henry as the head of the Church of England, denying the pope.

Before he was beheaded for high treason July 6, 1535, his final words were, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.” His feast day is June 22.

“He’s a model for virtue and the fact that his life spoke to standing up for God first and his king afterwards … he understood there is a higher law to follow,” said Our Lady of the Holy Souls parishioner Jim Goodhart, an attorney for 32 years and the society’s vice president. “And when there are difficult challenges or decisions that all of us have to make, that it’s really God who we answer to and he’s the source of all justice and wisdom and we take our direction from our heavenly father.”

With 300 members, about 50 are active participants, Johnson said. The 12-member board meets monthly, but all members are invited to the meetings.

The society has also held prayer breakfasts, brown bag luncheons and educational materials or provided speakers on legal topics. The society provides book scholarships to law students studying in Little Rock or Fayetteville, averaging about $250 each.

Vaughan Hankins, an attorney and member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, has been a member of the society for about 10 years and currently serves as treasurer. At last year’s Red Mass, members were given blessed lapel pins that bear the saint’s image, designed by local liturgical artist George Hoelzeman.

“I wear mine all the time when I’m in court. It’s not just for looks; it’s a reminder for me of how you conduct yourself,” Hankins said. “It’s not wearing it on your sleeve and being loud and verbose about it, it’s just how you carry yourself, how you act. And I try to keep that in mind wherever I go, but putting that pin on kind of helps you remember.”

At every gathering of the St. Thomas More Society, the lawyer’s prayer is read, encouraging the Lord to be with them while in court, to listen to clients and be honest with adversaries, ending with, “So that today I shall not, in order to win a point, lose my soul.”

“I believe strongly in the principles of St. Thomas More in the ethical treatment of people under the laws as well as the practice of law. We study ethics in law school and it’s just another way to promote that and support that belief,” Phillips said of the society.

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The 23rd Red Mass was held for those in law and government Oct. 6 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. The annual Mass and luncheon are organized by the St. Thomas More Society of Arkansas. Father Greg Luyet, diocesan judicial vicar and chaplain for the society, celebrated the Mass.

In his homily, Father Luyet reminded those in law and political fields that “Each of us have a role. Whether the solitude of our chambers, the solitude of our office or in the public stage, no matter where we go, no matter what we do we are all called to be instruments of justice and love.”

Concelebrants of the Mass were Msgr. Francis I. Malone, diocesan chancellor for ecclesial affairs and adjutant judicial vicar, Father Jack Vu, rector of the Cathedral, and Father Joseph Chan, associate pastor of the Cathedral. Also serving were three deacons who also have law degrees — Deacons Bud Bryant of Pine Bluff and Matthew Glover, diocesan chancellor for canonical affairs, and Bo McAllister, both of Little Rock. 

Father Luyet blessed lapel pins, designed by local liturgical artist George Hoelzeman, and handed them out to St. Thomas More members.

At the luncheon following Mass, David Menz, general counsel for the Diocese of Little Rock and founding member of the firm Williams & Anderson, was honored with the St. Thomas More Award.

For the past 22 years of his judgeship, North Little Rock District Court Judge Jim Hamilton has followed the lead of his mentor Judge John Ward and offered up a prayer before entering the courtroom.

“Each morning as I time the three steps to the door that leads to the courtroom, I pause, I kneel down for a moment, I place my thumb on the pencil markings of six letters I have written on the door frame. The letters W, P, U help me to remember that part of my small prayer where I ask God to grant me wisdom, patience and understanding,” Hamilton said. “The letters P, A, P serve the next step in the prayer as I seek the strength from God to avoid my pride, my arrogance and my prejudice which are always fighting to get in the way.”

Hamilton, who will retire in January after 50 years in the legal profession, was honored at a Sept. 30 luncheon following the 22nd annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock.

The Mass, attended by area judges, lawyers and government officials, is sponsored by the Diocese of Little Rock and the St. Thomas More Society of Arkansas. The society, formed in 1999 for legal and government professionals, is devoted to St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers, judges and government officials.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor concelebrated Mass with Father Gregory Luyet, judicial vicar and chaplain of the St. Thomas More Society, Msgr. Francis I. Malone, chancellor for ecclesial affairs and adjutant judicial vicar, and Father Jack Vu and Father Joseph Chan, rector and associate pastor at the Cathedral. Deacons Noel Bryant and Matt Glover, both members of the society, also served at the altar.

Knights of Columbus members and students from the William H. Bowen School of Law also attended.

Tough decisions

During his homily, Bishop Taylor emphasized the tough decisions that must be made by those in the legal profession and that they should “pray for fortitude and for piety and fear of the Lord,” going on to explain that fear of the Lord, “means being more concerned to please him than we are worried about the unpleasant or even predictable fall out that comes from doing his will and speaking his sometimes unpopular truth.”

Assistant North Little Rock City Attorney Paula Juels Jones, who will step into Hamilton’s role as district judge in January, and Little Rock District Court Judge Vic Fleming spoke of Hamilton’s commitment to his work and personal friendship.

“He has administered not just justice but also wisdom,” Fleming said, “and if you’ve watched closely in his courtroom, you’ve seen that he has done this with a sly wit, a dry sense of humor and a profound grasp, not only of that which is wise, a rare enough commodity for a judge, wisdom, but also in many instances what is sensible, advisable and necessary for a criminal defendant standing in front of him to get on with his or her life by tweaking this or that detail that seems like it might be out of kilter by some objectively measurable principle.”

Hamilton served in various roles throughout his career, including five years as deputy prosecuting attorney, 13 years as city attorney as well as private practice and then his election in 1994 as North Little Rock District Court judge in the criminal division. He has been active in several civic and service organizations and currently serves on the Review Board for the diocesan safe environment program.

Hamilton tried to hold back tears while thanking his wife Nancy, their four children and his colleagues for their love and support.

“I get my help from prayer,” Hamilton told Arkansas Catholic. “When you start relying on yourself, that’s when you start messing up.”

While law professors are accustomed to commanding a classroom of students and judges and lawyers oversee the courtroom, legal professionals came together Oct. 2 to relinquish their individual powers to honor God in his house.

More than 20 judges, lawyers and government officials celebrated the 21st annual Red Mass and luncheon at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. The event is sponsored by the Diocese of Little Rock and the St. Thomas More Society of Arkansas, an association formed in 1999 for political and legal professionals dedicated to St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers, judges and government officials. 

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor celebrated Mass with concelebrants including Father Gregory Luyet, chaplain of the St. Thomas More Society. Knights of Columbus members from Little Rock, North Little Rock and Jacksonville stood ready as the judges, clad in their black robes, processed into the Cathedral. Students from the William H. Bowen School of Law also attended the event.

In his homily, Bishop Taylor called attention to the fourth beatitude, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.”

“Your profession and Jesus’ call to holiness come together in this beatitude,” Bishop Taylor said. “Jesus is challenging his hearers and us to ask ourselves how much we really want to do that including the way you exercise the legal profession … That’s why I have to remind myself and you that the only one we really have to please is the Lord and sometimes this means embracing the cross, especially when what the Lord requires is unpopular or easily misconstrued.”

Bishop Taylor also told attendees they are at “the front lines” when it comes to protecting religious liberty and human life, dignity and rights. 

Judge Eddie Walker Jr., president of the Arkansas Bar Association, served as the lector during the Mass and told Arkansas Catholic that even though he’s Methodist, Bishop Taylor’s words brought up important points for all professionals of faith.

“I think the concept of unity is very important,” Walker said, adding that if we forget the dignity of individuals, “we dismantle the value of the (legal) system.”

At the luncheon following Mass, keynote speaker Rep. French Hill spoke about the historical and moral importance of Pope Francis’ trip to the United States, particularly his comments to a joint session of Congress Sept. 24 and his encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’.”

“Of course, I love his message to the entire world’s people of compassion, collaboration and value of life in every stage of development,” Hill said. “I think he spoke to the hearts of both Americans and law-givers when he said ‘We have had enough,’ and he’s reflecting on the world generally … ‘we have had enough of immorality and mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty.’”

Hill added the pope speaking of stewardship, in terms of a cleaner environment and civic organizations to help the least in society, and subsidiarity spoke to him as a congressman. 

Also during the lunch the society recognized Phil Carroll, who worked at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, served as a special chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1979 and was a member of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock before his death on March 9, 2013. Caroll, who was also Rep. Hill’s godfather, was honored with the annual St. Thomas More Award for exemplifying the attributes of St. Thomas.

“The Catholic Church meant so much to Phil and he would be so proud of this award,” said his widow, Diane, who accepted the award along with their granddaughter Margaret Payne.

For both Catholic and non-Catholic leaders, the event is considered a spiritual renewal.

“My faith guides most of my life and my decision-making process,” said Sherwood District Judge Butch Hale, a Catholic who has attended all the Red Masses. “… Like the bishop said, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”