At Red Mass, Catholic legal professionals rededicate themselves to respecting human dignity

Wearing their courtroom robes, judges who serve in central Indiana worship together on Sept. 15 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral at the start of the annual Red Mass organized by the St. Thomas More Society of Central Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

For centuries, Catholic attorneys, judges and other legal professionals have gathered to worship in the fall at the start of a court’s term, which traditionally began at that time of year.

In such Masses, they seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit in their work of representing their clients and carrying out the rule of law. That is why the vestments worn at such liturgies were red in color, and why this gathering of legal professionals is traditionally called a “Red Mass.”

Members of the St. Thomas More Society of Central Indiana, a professional organization for Catholics in that region of the state working in the legal field, gathered on Sept. 15 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis for its annual Red Mass. A dinner followed afterward at the adjacent Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, a canon lawyer himself, was the principal celebrant of the liturgy.

Julie Armstrong, the executive director since 1996 of the Indianapolis Bar Association was honored at the dinner with the St. Thomas More Society’s Woman of All Seasons Award.

And the speaker was Joseph Donnelly, a previous U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Indiana senator and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana.

‘Occasions of transforming grace’

With judges from across central Indiana sitting in their black robes at the front of the cathedral, Archbishop Thompson in his homily reminded his listeners that they have “an awesome task of responsibility to both God and neighbor” and the “precious opportunity to impact lives, families and even communities in very profound ways.”

“You do that day in and day out,” Archbishop Thompson continued. “The proper balancing of opportunities and responsibilities can be occasions of transforming grace for all persons involved, on all sides of the law, victim as well as perpetrator.”

He noted that legal professionals have a duty to respect the dignity of all who come before courts or seek assistance in law.

“However we might define the rule of law, and any aspect or discipline of law, everything should begin and end with the human person,” Archbishop Thompson said. “It is for this reason that the late Pope Francis spoke of the art of accompaniment, namely, meeting persons where they are, healing wounds and then teaching them. While accompaniment implies movement—even when challenge or correction is necessary—it should never be at the expense of a person’s dignity and well-being.”

He acknowledged the difficulty of respecting human dignity in today’s cultural climate.

“There are great challenges in our society—you know these better than I do—which demand judicial persons of great integrity, courage, understanding, and wisdom,” Archbishop Thompson said. “Acts of violence, racism, scapegoating, abuse, and robbery are regular occurrences in a culture that prizes radical individualism above all else while seeming being indifferent to the growing chaos and tragedy. In such a society, it is the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most.”

He went on to note that maintaining a firm adherence to the rule of law is a crucial means for legal professionals to consistently show respect for all people.

“Apart from the rule of law, humanity would be mired in chaos, marked by distrust and injustice,” Archbishop Thompson said. “For that reason, we readily celebrate those among us who serve as instruments of justice by means of arbitration, mediation, and rendering judgments for the sake of the individual and community—the common good.”

In concluding his homily, Archbishop Thompson reminded his listeners to remember that they will all eventually stand before Jesus Christ, “the ultimate judge.”

“For this reason, it is good to examine one’s conscience on a regular basis,” he said, “keeping before oneself the principles, values and virtues that define the character of the person wearing sacred robes, vestments or court regalia.”

Even in the face of contemplating such a final judgment, Archbishop Thompson encouraged those at the Red Mass to be “pilgrims of hope” in this jubilee year as they “strive to exercise the rule of law in a way fitting for the dignity of persons and the sake of the common good.”

“All is possible when we set aside egos, ideologies and agendas,” he continued, “so as to be Christ-centered in seeking the will of God above all else.”

Relying on faith to work well in law

One of those in black robes sitting before Archbishop Thompson at the Red Mass was Judge Tonya Walton-Pratt, the federal district court judge for the Southern District of Indiana and a member of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Indianapolis.

In an interview with The Criterion after the Red Mass, she noted the importance of judges to“rely on our faith” in the midst “of all the things that are happening in the world and in our country.”

Doing that, she said, helps her to respect all who come before her in the federal courthouse in Indianapolis.

“We treat everyone with dignity and respect, no matter who they are, what they’re accused of or what they’re charged with,” Walton-Pratt said.

Also attending the Red Mass was Greg Zoeller, a member of Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis. He served as Indiana’s attorney general from 2009-17.

“I think the Red Mass kind of brings us together both as bench and bar,” he said. “It reminds us that it’s our duty to represent people and serve others first. That’s what draws people to both be attorneys and [to serve] in government and on the bench.”

During the dinner that followed the Red Mass, Armstrong, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, made remarks after receiving the Woman for All Season Award.

“My Catholic faith has shaped not only my values, but also the way I strive to live my life, with integrity, humility and a sense of service,” she said. “Ultimately, my Catholic faith reminds me that leadership is not about power, but about service, something that Christ exemplified. That mindset keeps me centered and motivated.”

‘Don’t do what’s easy, do what’s right’

In his remarks during the dinner, Donnelly told his listeners that he learned early on in life the important lesson to “don’t do what’s easy, do what’s right.”

He learned that lesson, he said, from his father who raised him and his four siblings on his own after his wife died of breast cancer when Donnelly was 10, and from Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, who was president of the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana when Donnelly was a student there.

He told his listeners that he sees them carrying out this lesson in their work.

“That’s what all of you do every day in this profession,” Donnelly said. “You stand up and fight fiercely for your client. You bring character. You bring wisdom. You bring logic. And you bring hope to clients who may have lost everything. But because of you, they have the chance.

“For our judges, you fight fiercely for the law. It doesn’t matter how powerful a person is or how little that person has. You do what’s right each and every day for all of them.”

Donnelly began his work as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See in 2022, three weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. He recalled how he assisted Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi in his diplomatic work on behalf of the Holy See to seek the repatriation of 30,000 Ukrainian children taken by Russian forces into Russia.

Although the archbishop of Bologna, Italy, has so far been able to bring only 1,000 children back to Ukraine, Donnelly is still proud of that work.

“Our job was to try to get as many of them home as we could,” he said. “That was the Church that I saw every single day. … For every one of those that Cardinal Zuppi brought home, there’s a family who had their family back together.”

Donnelly saw the “spirit of Jesus Christ” as the foundation of Cardinal Zuppi’s work. He also heard it in the “clarion voice” of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, now of Newark, N.J., when, in 2015 as archbishop of Indianapolis, he welcomed a family of Syrian refugees to the state at a time when then-Gov. Mike Pence suspended the resettlement of refugees to Indiana from the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

“It was Cardinal Tobin who said that we are bringing them through Catholic Charities,” Donnelly said. “We will stand with them. We will meet them in the airport. We will take care of them. And they will be exemplary citizens of this wonderful city.

“That’s who we are. We reach out to everybody with compassion and with hope and with care.”

Donnelly ended his remarks with a reference to the troubles facing the country today, but also with hope for its future.

“Our country is in a trouble zone,” Donnelly said. “But you are the answer. I’m a 100% on this. You are the answer. Kindness, compassion.

“If you seek division, you will cause destruction. If you seek unity, you will bring us together. And that’s what our country needs—your leadership every day.” †