Archbishop Decries Politicization of Truth at Red Mass
Creighton University celebrated the start of the new judicial year with its Red Mass on Monday.
The ceremony, led by the Rev. George J. Lucas, archbishop of Omaha, was held at St. John’s Church on Creighton’s campus. It was the first in person Red Mass since 2019. Last year’s event was held online due to the pandemic.
The annual event was hosted by the Creighton University School of Law and was open to members of the legal community, including judges, attorneys, law professors and students, and law enforcement and government officials.
In his homily, Lucas noted an increase in what he called “the fragmentation in our society.”
“The ongoing political divisiveness seems to be getting worse,” Lucas said. “Everything, it seems, is politicized and that politicization is often spiced with contempt, with pushing others away from us in a kind of disrespect.”
Lucas lamented the politicization of objective reality and called upon the legal community to “help us find the truth so that we can rally around it.”
“This year in particular I suggest we might pray for the spirit of God to help us see more clearly what is true so that each of us can make our choices enlightened by truth,” Lucas said.
Red Mass dates to 13th century Europe when it was celebrated prior to opening the Ecclesiastical Courts, to invoke divine guidance upon those responsible for administering laws and justice. The name is derived from the red vestments worn by the priests, to signify the fire of the Holy Spirit, and by the scarlet robes then worn by judges and doctors of law.
The liturgy during the Red Mass featured the use of a handwritten, hand-illustrated Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible, which is on loan to the university from Michael McCarthy, Chair Emeritus of Creighton’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Nancy.
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