'Follow the example of St. Thomas More'

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

MIAMI - Judge Vance Salter of the U.S. Third District Court of Appeals said that he and his wife, Mary, have talked about writing a book which they would title, "The Saints Among Us."

"One half of the book would be dedicated to the legal professionals in Miami who have helped those who couldn�t afford a lawyer and those lawyers who offered their services for free or pro bono," said Salter as he accepted the Miami Catholic Lawyer's Guild "Lex Christi, Lex Amoris" award. The annual recognition came after a Red Mass of the Holy Spirit for legal professionals May 26 at Gesu Church.

Because of Judge Salter's charitable service, the Florida Supreme Court and the American Bar Association also awarded him the "pro bono publico" award; St. Thomas University Law School awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree, and he received knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II. He has served as a board member and officer of Legal Services of Greater Miami and Catholic Charities Legal Services.

"There�s a great unmet need among the poor because of the high cost of legal services," said Salter.

Now that he's a judge, Salter conducts seminars with law students at Florida International University and the University of Miami on public interest law.

The Miami Catholic Lawyer's Guild, which sponsors the annual Red Mass, offers opportunities for faith-sharing among Catholic attorneys, sponsoring seminars and working with existing organizations to enrich the community.

"As a Catholic, one doesn't divorce himself from his faith," said Jose Rojas, the Guild's outgoing president.

In a sincere gift of self to others, man finds himself said Archbishop Thomas Wenski in his homily.

"Today we can see that the failure to be truly human has social consequences," said Archbishop Wenski. "Our police forces, our social service agencies, our public schools, our courtrooms deal with these consequences every day. We must ask, how does our society's forms of social organization, production or consumption help or do not help us to offer this gift of self and thereby to establish solidarity between people?"

Archbishop Wenski challenged not just the Catholic attorneys present but all Catholics in America.

"[America] needs us Catholics to be truly Catholic," he said. "That's the best contribution we can make, for in being better Catholics, we can be better citizens and better public servants."

As men and women of faith, Catholic legal professionals can make a great contribution to the development of public policies and laws that serve the common good, he told those in attendance.

"By building on the body of Catholic social teachings, you argue for the priority of the ethical over the technical, of the person over things, for the superiority of the spirit over matter and follow the example of St. Thomas More, who was the king's good servant, but, God's servant first," said Archbishop Wenski.

St. Thomas More was a 16th century English lawyer who opposed the king's separation from the Catholic Church. He was tried for treason and executed. The Catholic Church canonized him in 1935 and he is the patron saint of lawyers.

The Red Mass tradition dates back to the 13th century when it marked the official opening of the term of the court for most European countries. The name refers to the red vestments worn by the celebrants to signify the Holy Spirit.