Religion & American Law

Red Mass: lobbying the Supreme Court or simple prayer service?

Every year since 1953, the (Catholic) Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D. C. has held a special mass for civil servants. This Red Mass is an invitation-only service meant to celebrate the legal profession. The latest Red Mass was held on Sunday, October 4, 2009—the day before the Supreme Court began its new term. The name of the service, Red Mass, dates back to the 13^th century and refers to the red vestments worn by the church celebrants (priests). Although, in the past, Presidents have attended, Obama did not attend the 2009 service; Vice President Biden did. Several Supreme Court Justices always attend. For this last mass, five of the six Roman Catholic Justices attended (Justices Roberts, Sotomayor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Alito), as well as Justice Breyer, who is Jewish. Justice Thomas did not attend even though he is also Roman Catholic. The sermon (or Homily, in the Catholic Church) touched on the issue of abortion while anti-abortion protesters rallied outside the Cathedral steps. Abortion issues were not on the Supreme Court agenda during this term, although the cross in the Mojave National Preserves was.

The idea of bringing together those persons involved in the law of the national government to “simply pray for the wisdom of God” seems so reasonable to those of Christian or fundamentalist backgrounds. After all, our Founding Fathers, admitted that a nation’s leaders required moral fortitude in order to serve the people well and fairly. Even after studying how the Supreme Court derives their decisions and admiring the subtlety and complexity of their arguments, the fact that just before they begin their judiciary responsibilities they attend a religious service expressly seeking the “wisdom of God” seems hypocritical and unsympathetic to the non-Christian and areligious. This Mass combined with the daily harkening of God in the Court implies that this is not a matter of civil religion or symbolic religious discourse. Quite the contrary, this seems to reinforce Justice Douglas’ rendering in Zorach v. Clauson (1952) that “we are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.” Six of nine Justices attended this service and I find myself wondering just how they go about distancing themselves from their obvious religious identities when deciding religious causes. Is it any wonder that the Court keeps handing down instantly controversial opinions—even between and among themselves? If the law itself is blind to subjectivity, should not those who prescribe the law also be blind to subjectivity? Attending an obviously sectarian religious service on the wake of a legal term seems to preclude that necessary sense of objectivity.

About : Raja CRN

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