Key questions for the ministry of law
The long-established custom of initiating a new judicial year by the invocation of the Holy Spirit provides those entrusted with the ministry of law with a most auspicious occasion to dwell once more on questions central to that ministry: What is justice? What is the purpose of law? How is the law served and observed? What is the charge incumbent on legal officers?
False justice – justice without God and virtue
The readings of Sacred Scripture that are proclaimed on this twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time offer important direction in that regard:
In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel challenges the errant of the People of Israel who not only passed judgement on the law of God, but questioned the very justice of God when that justice was – in the case of a repentant sinner – tempered with mercy. This led them to claim that “The Lord’s way is not fair!” – it is not just. The divine reply, uttered by the prophet, is a question: “Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?” Laying out a further description of the way of God, the psalmist acclaims that “Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way.” The collect prayer of this Sunday ties mercy also to the power of God, by praising Him “who manifest[s] [his] almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy.”
Our Catholic tradition has and continues to repeat the warning offered by these Old Testament texts: the law of men, the justice of men can so easily become corrupted and morph into a vehicle for injustice if it seeks not true justice and the justice of God. It is evident from the Book of Ezekiel that the justice the people had in mind when challenging the way of God was simply vengeance on sinners, regardless of their repentance.
St. Thomas Aquinas, in his treaties of law, noted that “Human law is law insofar as it corresponds to right reason and therefore is derived from the eternal law. When, however, a law is contrary to reason, it is called an unjust law; in such a case it ceases to be law and becomes instead an act of violence” (ST, I-II, q. 93).
Seeking just and correct criteria for legal ministry
Pope Benedict XVI, in his important address to the German parliament on September 22, 2011 – a papal address that enters into dialogue with the Austrian legal theorist Hans Kelsen – stressed that “everyone in a position of responsibility must personally seek out the criteria to be followed when framing laws”.
To seek out the just and correct criteria surely applies not only to making law but also to the application of law, and to – I would argue – any ministry of law, any work of the legal professional, any effort to promote the rule of law.
Saint Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, today’s second reading, identifies the criterion above all others guiding every human endeavor as Jesus Christ: “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus,” he writes. And as the prophet and the psalmist speaks of the way of God as being justice tempered with mercy, so the Apostle points to the attitude of Christ Jesus as service of others, as humility, as docility to God: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others”.
We see here the outlines of the benchmarks that should accompany any legal ministry, any effort of the legal professional to contribute to society and a society that is permeated by the virtue of justice, and this “promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1807).
Our Lord himself – in his words to the Chief Priests and the elders of the people – brings to completion the words of the prophet Ezekiel by challenging the attitude towards both the repentant sinner and to the mercy and beatitude that is offered to those who turn to the way of righteousness. Our Lord draws this distinction by invoking also the example of John the Baptist, whose zeal for God drew not only the ire of the powerful, but their rash and corrupted exercise of “justice”
The patron saint of your society, and indeed of all lawyers and legal officials, Saint Thomas More offers another and a striking example of one who sought true justice: the constant and firm will to give what is owed to God and neighbor, who sought the just and correct criteria, who aspired to the example of Our Lord. The rigor with which he applied himself to both his faith and his duties, his integrity when faced with the consequences brought to bear on him for being first the servant of God, and the kindness and love that characterized his life as husband and father is worthy of our admiration and our imitation.
Pope Francis, addressing the Roman Rota on January 24, 2014, both noted that service must characterize the work of the judge – and all legal professionals – and offered a list of qualities that those who have dedicated themselves to the law must exemplify human maturity, calm judgement, knowledge of the law, objectivity in judgement, and fairness. We see in these reflected the life of Saint Thomas More and recognize their value for those dedicated to the rule of law.
The necessary aid of the Holy Spirit
Saint Thomas More, in laying down his public duties and accepting the martyrdom for truth and justice, points to a man who pondered the central questions before us: What is justice? What is the purpose of law? How is the law served and observed? What is the charge incumbent on legal officers? And more so: it points to a life lived in keeping with their answers. With his example, so clearly guided by true justice and a desire to serve not his own interests but that of others and ultimately God alone, we recognize the demands that accompanies with serving the law. And in doing so, we acknowledge the need for aid, for guidance, for fortitude, for conviction – for the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In the words of the Sequence of Pentecost:
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
(Msgr. Hansen is dean of seminarians and assistant professor of pastoral studies at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore).
