Cardinal credits court nomination civility, asks for it to continue

Published: 2005-10-03

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The day before the opening of the Supreme Court term, Washington's Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick lauded "a period of greater civility in the selection of our chief justice." At the annual Red Mass that traditionally precedes the court's opening, Cardinal McCarrick asked for continued civility from a congregation at St. Matthew Cathedral that included President George W. Bush, new Chief Justice John Roberts and White House counsel Harriet Miers, who was nominated the next morning to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Cardinal McCarrick greeted the dignitaries, who also included four Supreme Court associate justices, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and hundreds of people involved in law and politics. He said people from different parties and with different points of view should work together for the common good. Roberts was confirmed to his post Sept. 29 by a vote of 78-22. "I pray that civility will continue," the cardinal added, "because it is so important not just for good government, but for the good care of our people who look here to all of you and your colleagues for the kind of leadership that is not destructive and not too intensely partisan." The 52nd annual Red Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral drew a standing-room-only crowd of 1,450 people. Others had to be turned away because the church was full.

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