ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Bishop Olmsted,
Members of the Saint Thomas More Society,
Distinguished Judges, Lawyers and other Members of the Legal Community,
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
Friends who serve the people and who have come together today to pray,

My deep gratitude to Bishop Olmsted, a friend and colleague of many years, beginning with our service to the Apostolic See in Rome, for the invitation to be with you today. It is indeed a great joy for me to join you in celebrating the tradition of the Red Mass-a tradition that had its origin in thirteenth-century France, in the famed Sainte Chapelle of Paris during the reign of King Saint Louis IX. That same tradition continues today to invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to assist people of the law in their important service to our society.

The Church supports this tradition by her annual invitation and by this convocation this evening. The Church offers encouragement to all of you who prayerfully participate in it. And on this occasion she wishes to express deep gratitude to you for your commitment to the law, conceived as founded on truth and linked to true freedom.

There is a remarkable text in the Second Vatican Council about the truth of our identity as human beings. This text is found in the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It states boldly that "we are witnesses of the birth of a new humanism, one in which man is defined first of all by his responsibility toward his brothers and sisters and toward history" (Gaudium et Spes, 55). This truth of solidarity-the fact that we have a relationship with one another-is clearly seen in your life and in your important work.

Your many activities presume this solidarity-this basic law of God-and are pregnant with special responsibility for society. This text of Vatican II appears in the theocentric context of an ecumenical council that proclaims the primacy of God, a God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with supreme relevance for our lives.

Our liturgy today speaks to us about truth and the very fundamental structure of truth with its many exigencies. We are reminded in our First Reading about the fact that we are God's people, He is our God. Life comes from Him and terminates in Him. He spells out its meaning and its duration. He rewards its efforts.

Because we are His people and He is our God, our essential relationship to one another depends on Him. It cannot be determined by public acceptance or consensus, by utility or by what is opportune. Rather, it is determined by His law, which expresses His truth. Our own identity does not let us, therefore, re-define ourselves or re-invent our relationship to others, whether it be, for example, at the moment of their conception, their consummate defenselessness or their terminal illness. The issue of abortion, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide can never be divorced from the principle of human solidarity-rooted in the truth of God, incorporated into our nature and impressed on our hearts just as in the case of the commandment of God: "Thou shalt not kill." There is ample reason, also, to believe that the magnanimity inculcated by the Gospel requires for our times a clear re-examination of the death penalty, concerning not only its "effectiveness" but also whether it can ever truly be considered "necessary."

Just this past Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI stated in his Message to the world that remarkable scientific and technological progress can indeed be turned against the well-being of humanity, with the men and women of our age risking to become the victims of their own intellectual and technical achievements. Is this not verified in the case of embryonic stem-cell research being carried out, while adult stem-cell research and use yield so much hope, without any violation of the dignity of human beings?

What a splendid contribution you so often make, dear Friends, in effectively proclaiming human dignity, human solidarity, the value of human life. Yours is a magnificent service to a society in need-a society that officially professes "liberty and justice for all."

Your task is daunting, but you are people, perhaps not of facile optimism, but of deep hope. And I would say more. You are people of power. Today I would emphasize not only all the power inherent in your respective offices, but also that immense power with which the Spirit of Truth endows you. All the members of the Church are called to share in the power that the Holy Spirit entrusted in a particular way to the Apostles.

God's word proclaimed today at this liturgy is, therefore, extremely meaningful to your lives. Jesus says: "You will receive power." It is power that is linked with a gift-the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power is not given for domination or manipulation. It is power given to you for the service of truth and freedom. It is power to bear witness to Jesus.

The Spirit of Truth whom we invoke today is the same Spirit promised by Jesus. He is the one who completes the work of Jesus in us and leads us to liberating truth. The message of Jesus that we receive today in the Gospel is strong, forceful and encouraging: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." The experience of the past century has so effectively confirmed the fact that any system of life, any structure of government not based on truth radically violates freedom, and that real freedom requires society to live according to truth. The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the sham and travesty of apartheid-these systemic violations of freedom have all dissolved before the shining truth of God's plan that creates the inalienable dignity of the human person and decrees the duty of universal human solidarity.

Yes, what wonderful power you have-the power to possess truth, to live truth, to communicate truth, to serve truth, and, in serving truth, to serve the truth of life! You have the extraordinary power to serve life itself, and to help people live in happiness and in the truth of their lives, which involves their proper relationship to God and their solidarity with others.

How relevant today-in the United States of America as well as in the other countries whose citizens may be present at this Mass-are those words God spoke centuries ago to the people of Israel: "I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people and I shall be your God." The sector of human behavior and human law-now as then-cannot prescind from the truth of the primacy of God.

The truth, moreover, of the right role of government offers deep insight into the just formulation of laws. This is eminently so in regard to laws affecting "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Over a quarter of a century ago, on a visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II, citing an impressive voice in the tradition of this Republic, spoke these words in our nation's capital: "A distinguished American, Thomas Jefferson, once stated: 'The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the just and only legitimate object of good government' (March 31, 1809)." These words have proved to be an enduring challenge to America even to this day.

To cite the truth of the primacy of God and the right role of government is also to raise the issue of moral truth in general-truth that exists independently of time-conditioned preferences or cultural options. I share the conviction, dear Friends, that you who are passionate servants of just law are in a position-a powerful position, a spiritually powerful position-to proclaim in word and action that there is indeed moral truth that was such before we came to be, and will still be when our life on earth is over. What is not in accord with this truth is and always will be evil, even if it should be legal. And I submit today that God's holy word confirms this position, or rather that the certitude of this position is derived from God's word: God has willed and in fact proclaimed that we shall be His people and He shall be our God.

Do we not all agree that the role of human law must ensure the dignity of man-every man, woman and child-the protection of the human race and the promotion of those conditions of life that permit human beings to live as such? As human situations change, God's relationship to humanity remains: He is our God and we are His people. As His people we are indeed defined by our responsibility to one another-our responsibility to do what is truly good for one another. And since what is evil remains evil even when declared legal, what responsibility is incumbent on those who make the laws, interpret them and apply them!

Resisting the pressure to make laws conform only to popular demand, and insisting on both the primacy of God's law-written in such great measure in our hearts-and the exigencies of universal human solidarity are great contributions to justice and human freedom. How blessed then, dear Friends, your every effort, through legal expertise, to reinforce the moral conscience of our people by presenting human law as forever subject to God.

I have spoken about power, about spiritual power, linked to the gift of the Spirit of Truth. This power to know and embrace liberating truth is yours, and today we invoke the Holy Spirit of Truth to confirm you in this power. What is ultimately at stake is your providential service to the cause of justice and to the freedom of our land. The challenge is immense but surely there is every reason to be deeply encouraged by the assurance of Christ's words: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

As Pope John Paul II left Washington on his first papal visit to the United States, he spoke these words: "...my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become-and truly be-and long remain-'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'"

Friends of the law: I am sure that you all share the sentiments of this prayer. I am also sure that you know just how important a role you are meant to play in consolidating God's blessings on America. Yours is a powerful role of service. Yours is a formidable challenge always to proclaim truth and to defend life. In the face of such a task, be strengthened by the promise of the Lord Jesus. Rejoice in the Spirit of Truth, who is poured out in your hearts today. Amen.