THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3. 2009
NEWS
5A
RELIGION
Catholic Center holds Mass for law students
BY BRANDON SAYERS bsayers@kansan.com
Tonight, Lawrence's first-ever Red Mass will bring together lawyers, judges, politicians, professors and students interested in the relationship between religion and justice.
Red Masses are special religious ceremonies held for those in the fields of law and public office. While they are usually held in Catholic churches, these events welcome professionals of all religious faiths.
The sermons focus on professionals in justice-related fields and the way their work overlaps with religious principles.
The event is co-sponsored by the University's chapter of the St. Thomas More Society, a group for Catholic law students. Josh
Goetting, law student and the group's president, said he thought those in public office or the law profession would respond to a Mass geared toward their work.
"We are the kind of people that are trying to act for the greater good of others." Goetting said. "Because of that we ask for the help of God as we try to carry out our duties."
The tradition of Red Masses in the Catholic Church dates to the 13th century. The event was named after the red vestments the leaders of the mass wear.
One of the most popular Red Masses is held each October in Washington, D.C. the day before the Supreme Court convenes. Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and even the President of the United States often attend this event, sometimes sparking controversy over the relation between politics and religion.
Echoing that sentiment, representatives from the School of Law said the school had no religious affiliation and felt it would be inappropriate to comment.
However, Michael Davis, professor of law, said laws and religion often shared the same moral principles. Davis said he was impressed by the Red Masses he attended in the past, and hoped this event would help people understand how specific professions are connected with religious ideologies.
The Rev. Steve Beseau, director of the St. Lawrence Center, will lead the Red Mass. Beseau said he hoped he could help those at the Mass see their occupation as more than simply everyday work.
"What I hope to reaffirm in these law students, professors
and those that practice law is a sense of nobility in what they do," Beseau said.
Beseau said he hoped the words of God could help everyone make good decisions, but especially those who face ethical dilemmas on a regular basis.
Goetting said everyone he spoke with that had attended other Red Masses praised the events.
"We will ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and give the wisdom and knowledge to make the right decisions in the next year," Beseau said.
A Red Mass is held in Kansas City each year but both Goetting and Beseau said this was the first in Lawrence.
"They all walked away with a lit-
"We're pretty proud to say that we're bringing a big city thing like this to Lawrence," Goetting said.
the bit different perspective so I'm hoping that we have something similar to that with this event," Goetting said.
The Mass will begin at 5:15 p.m. tonight at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road, on the corner of 15th Street and Engel Road. Although the Red Mass is directed at those interested in certain professions, the event will occur during a regularly scheduled Mass and is open to anyone.
Following the mass, a reception will be held at the St. Lawrence Rectory, across the street from the St. Lawrence Catholic Center on the other side of Crescent Road. Anyone planning to attend the reception should RSVP at 785-843-0357.
Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph
LAWRENCE'S FIRST RED MASS
**WHO:** All students interested in both religion and a career in law or public office are invited to attend.
**WHAT:** A Red Mass is a traditional homily celebrated annually in the Roman Catholic Church specifically for judges, lawyers and government officials.
**WHEN:** 5:15 p.m. today
**WHERE:** St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, near 15th Street and Engel Road.
CRIME
Refreshments will be served after the mass at the St. Lawrence Rectory, across the street on the other side of Crescent Road. Anyone planning to attend the reception should RSVP with the St. Lawrence Center at 785-843-0357.
Holocaust Museum shooter ordered to remain in jail
Prosecutor says the wheelchair-bound white supremacist, 89, is still'dangerous'
possible in the June 10 attack.
WASHINGTON — An 89-year-old white supremacist charged with killing a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was ordered to remain in jail Wednesday after prosecutors said the frail man was still dangerous because he had "no true friends" and "nothing to lose."
A judge also ordered James von Brunn to undergo a competency evaluation despite objections from the wheelchair-bound suspect. He was otherwise nonchalant and even smiled when a prosecutor said he wanted to kill as many people as
The 30-minute hearing was von Brunn's first public appearance since the shooting. The Washington federal court hearing had been
von Brunn
James von Brunn is seen in court in this artist's drawing by Dana Verkouteren in Washington, DC, on Sept. 2. Von Brunn, 89, a known white supremacist, is charged with fatally shooting a security guard inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., on June 10.
delayed several times as von Brunn recovered in a hospital after being shot by other museum guards. He had been struck once near the right ear, but the wound has since healed, his attorney said.
Von Brunn appeared to be wearing medical bracelets.
Although he had no visible wounds or bandages, the injuries make it difficult for him to hear and speak, his attorney said. He wore a navy D.C. jail uniform and looked mostly at his lap,
leaning over at times to speak with his lawyer.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Von Brunn first shook his head and then called out "your honor" when the judge suggested he was going to order an evaluation. His attorney and the judge tried to advise him not to speak.
"Your constitution guarantees me a speedy and fair trial," von Brunn finally said in a halting voice.
In asking that von Brunn not be released, prosecutor Nicole Waid said von Brunn's actions were clear on videotape.
"This isn't a case of whodunit, your honor," Waid said.
She said that though von Brunn may appear frail, he is still a danger because he "has no true friends" and "nothing to lose."
Waid said that von Brunn arranged his finances and funeral plans before his "suicide mission" at the museum, and that he wanted to kill as many people as possible.
He shook his head when Waid recounted how he had once tried to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve board.
He was caught outside a board meeting carrying a bag stuffed with weapons. He describes his attempt with apparent pride on his Web
site. He was sentenced in 1983 to more than four years in prison for attempted armed kidnapping and other charges in his Fed assault. He was released in 1989.
Von Brunn was indicted in July
CRIME
on charges including first-degree murder for the death of museum guard Stephen T. Johns, who was black. Four of the charges carry a possible death penalty if he's convicted.
a racist, anti-Semitic Web site and wrote a book titled "Kill the Best Gentiles," alleging a Jewish conspiracy "to destroy the white gene pool." He also claimed the Holocaust was a hoax.
Public records show that in 2004 and 2005 he lived briefly in Hayden Lake, Idaho, which for years was home to the Aryan Nations, a racist group run by neo-Nazi Richard Butler. He had
California campus still awaits shooter's arrest
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — California's Skyline College campus is on lockdown as police search for a suspect who shot and wounded a student.
Leslie Shelton, director of the school's learning center, says a student came into her building about 1 p.m. bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound.
WILDFIRE Feds neglected to burn flammable brush by L.A.
The Forest Service says it did remove some brush by hand and that tricky weather patterns made it tough to do all the planned burns. —Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The AP has learned that the federal government did not burn away decades of brush on nearly 2,000 parched acres in the forest where the raging wildfire on the edge of Los Angeles broke out.
Months before the huge wildfire broke out, federal authorities obtained permits to burn decades of highly flammable brush. The AP obtained records showing that fewer than 200 acres were cleared by the time the fire erupted.