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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Joke in the answer to	Antonio	Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Question: Dear Brother Ignatius, That joke you came up with in the answer to the question "Class Action Lawsuit against Kerry" is one cruel joke. :) It“s not the first time you mention the said joke in this Forum. But then again, would that joke apply to Canon Lawyers? :) By the way: we lawyers do have a Patron Saint: St. Yves. (Sto. Ivo in portuguese). If this joke is correct, then he is already the occupant of that painthouse in Heaven. Uh... I am not sure, but I believe that St. Josemaria Escrivį de Balaguer also had a law degree. Am I wrong on that? Not to mention other Saints who have written very important texts on Jurisprudence (General Theory of Law), such as the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas. But to make this a serious question let me ask this: Do you really think that there is an incompatibility between the legal profession and Catholic Teaching? I mean, my practise here in Brazil is in areas such as Corporate Law, Civil Liability (Torts, damages) and Litigation. Usually our clients are corporations and not individuals, so the hot issues insofar as the Church“s doctrine is concerned (Family Law) are outside of my field of action. Anyway, don“t you think it is important to have Catholic Law Professors, Catholic Judges and Catholic Supreme Court Justices??? I mean, those who claim that they are in favour of a "secularised society" where religion can play no role in public life, are very often anti-clericalists, who want to place limits on Religious Freedom (such as in France these days), and/or people who support atheist and ungodly things, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, etc. (there are many of those in America, and the recent Court decisions in favour of same-sex marriage in Massachussets are already creating an international trend). I mean, if there were Catholic jurists in the US Supreme Court, for example, abortion would have never been recognized as one of the rights inherent to the privacy of women. Here in Brazil the proliferation of atheist judges is having the same effect. Although the Brazilian Legislation considers abortion to be a crime, our Supreme Court recenly authorized the abortion of babies with anencephaly, recognizing that the "right" to such abortion was a fundamental "right" of the mother. (Our legislation already had to statutory exceptions, one which authorized abotion in case of danger of death to the mother, and the other that authorized abortion when the pregnancy was the consequence of a rape.) In Civil Law countries such as Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and other countries of Continental Europe, the legal opinion of Law Professors (called "doctrine") is a very important source to legal interpretation. My point is that we need more Catholic Lawyers, Law Professors and Judges, to curb immoral interpretations such as those.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+ Dear Antonio: Do not forget St. Thomas More as a patron of lawyers. I think the message of the joke is more for secular lawyers, but then again, if a "Liberal" Canon Lawyer showed up at the gates of heaven, it would be so eternally rare that he would probably not only get the Penthouse suite, but a brass band, a choir of angels, the key to the city, and a seat at the right hand of God :) We do need good Catholic Lawyers and Jurist there is no doubt, but the profession of law (depending on the area of law practiced)is hard on devout Catholics. A dear friend of mine is a lawyer, but he has not practiced law in some years. There are several reasons for this, but one reason is that the profession of law often bumped up against his Catholic sensibilities. I think Ave Maria College has a new law school. I would HIGHLY recommend them for anyone interested in Law. We need to pray for the Catholic and other Christian lawyers who are in fields of law that test their faith. They NEED our prayers. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Joke in the answer to

Antonio

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Question:

Dear Brother Ignatius,

That joke you came up with in the answer to the question "Class Action Lawsuit against Kerry" is one cruel joke. :)

It“s not the first time you mention the said joke in this Forum. But then again, would that joke apply to Canon Lawyers? :)

By the way: we lawyers do have a Patron Saint: St. Yves. (Sto. Ivo in portuguese). If this joke is correct, then he is already the occupant of that painthouse in Heaven.

Uh... I am not sure, but I believe that St. Josemaria Escrivį de Balaguer also had a law degree. Am I wrong on that?

Not to mention other Saints who have written very important texts on Jurisprudence (General Theory of Law), such as the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas.

But to make this a serious question let me ask this: Do you really think that there is an incompatibility between the legal profession and Catholic Teaching?

I mean, my practise here in Brazil is in areas such as Corporate Law, Civil Liability (Torts, damages) and Litigation. Usually our clients are corporations and not individuals, so the hot issues insofar as the Church“s doctrine is concerned (Family Law) are outside of my field of action.

Anyway, don“t you think it is important to have Catholic Law Professors, Catholic Judges and Catholic Supreme Court Justices???
I mean, those who claim that they are in favour of a "secularised society" where religion can play no role in public life, are very often anti-clericalists, who want to place limits on Religious Freedom (such as in France these days), and/or people who support atheist and ungodly things, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, etc. (there are many of those in America, and the recent Court decisions in favour of same-sex marriage in Massachussets are already creating an international trend).

I mean, if there were Catholic jurists in the US Supreme Court, for example, abortion would have never been recognized as one of the rights inherent to the privacy of women.

Here in Brazil the proliferation of atheist judges is having the same effect. Although the Brazilian Legislation considers abortion to be a crime, our Supreme Court recenly authorized the abortion of babies with anencephaly, recognizing that the "right" to such abortion was a fundamental "right" of the mother. (Our legislation already had to statutory exceptions, one which authorized abotion in case of danger of death to the mother, and the other that authorized abortion when the pregnancy was the consequence of a rape.)

In Civil Law countries such as Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and other countries of Continental Europe, the legal opinion of Law Professors (called "doctrine") is a very important source to legal interpretation.

My point is that we need more Catholic Lawyers, Law Professors and Judges, to curb immoral interpretations such as those.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+

Dear Antonio:

Do not forget St. Thomas More as a patron of lawyers.

I think the message of the joke is more for secular lawyers, but then again, if a "Liberal" Canon Lawyer showed up at the gates of heaven, it would be so eternally rare that he would probably not only get the Penthouse suite, but a brass band, a choir of angels, the key to the city, and a seat at the right hand of God :)

We do need good Catholic Lawyers and Jurist there is no doubt, but the profession of law (depending on the area of law practiced)is hard on devout Catholics.

A dear friend of mine is a lawyer, but he has not practiced law in some years. There are several reasons for this, but one reason is that the profession of law often bumped up against his Catholic sensibilities.

I think Ave Maria College has a new law school. I would HIGHLY recommend them for anyone interested in Law.

We need to pray for the Catholic and other Christian lawyers who are in fields of law that test their faith. They NEED our prayers.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum