The Report of the President of Thomas More Lawyers Guild of Ottawa - February 2002
Ronald Caza, President Pro-Tem, February 25, 2002
Premièrement je tiens à vous remercier d'avoir accepter de devenir, et pour plusieurs d'entre vous de ‘re-devenir', membre de cette société.
Grâce à votre intérêt, notre organisation a un regain de vie: nous espérons prendre avantage de ce nouvel intérêt pour renouer notre engagement avec le judiciaire et la communauté en général.
In December 2001 I was appointed President Pro-Tem by the Board of Directors of the Guild with the mandate to solicit memberships for the Guild and to hold an annual meeting. Accordingly, letters to prospective members were sent out and the date of the annual meeting is set for February 28, 2002.
This is my report on the state of the Guild.
History
The Guild was set up by its founders and founding president in 1984 when the first Red Mass was celebrated. The founding members were judges and lawyers of various faiths but who held in common a belief in the importance of a spiritual dimension in the life of the law exemplified by the life and death of Thomas More.
For reasons obscure and perhaps unimportant, there was a lapse of any activity by the Guild for the years 1997-1998. In 1999, Michael Collins, Garret Cooligan, Q.C., Julio Lagos, Justice Charles Doyle, Bill Riley, Joseph Hamon and I with the support of Archbishop Gervais organized a return to the purposes of the Guild by holding the Red Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral, which was followed by a dinner at the Château Laurier.
In September 2000 our group was joined by Daniel Roussy and Jean Rhéaume for the organizing of the Red Mass and subsequent reception. This group again organized the Red Mass in September 2001 at Saint Patrick`s Basilica, which was followed by a reception hosted by the Guild with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Ottawa Shelter for the Homeless. Following the successful September event the above group has met six times. I thank the group for their untiring work.
The Red Mass, 2002
Planning is well under underway for the Red Mass. Both the opening of the Courts and the Red Mass will be held on September 19, 2002. The Opening of the Courts will be held at 3:00 p.m. at a court room to be designated. The Solemn High Red Mass will be held at Notre Dame Cathedral-Basilica at 4:30 celebrated by the Archbishop of Ottawa. Please mark the date and time in your calender. Last year the judges of all the courts in the city including Justice Gonthier from the Supreme Court of Canada, and judges from the Federal and Tax Courts, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice attended both the Red Mass and the reception that followed. This year the Guild would like to see many more lawyers attend and participate. The Guild urges its members to encourage lawyers to attend. Lawyers usually gown but the Guild would like to see other lawyers participate even though they might not wish to gown. The Guild welcomes your input on how to increase the participation of lawyers in the Red Mass.
Dinner - Reception
Le nouveau conseil d'administration devra décider si, suite la la Messe Rouge, nous aurons une réception vin-fromage comme l'an passé, ou plutôt un banquet comme dans les années précédentes. Nous serions très intéressé d'obtenir l'avis des membres sur cette question.
Suggestions to the Board
One of the initiatives the Guild undertook this year was the creation of a domain name and web site. The Guild can be visited at www.thomas-more-ottawa.org. There is a directory at that site for members: www.thomas-more-ottawa.org/membership. Please bookmark the site or add it as a favourite. Our e-mail address is admin@thomas-more-ottawa.org. A form is available on the web site for the submission of suggestions for the Board. Please take time to look at it and offer any suggestions that you might think would assist the Guild.
Membership
The membership in the Guild stands at 34 persons. The Guild will offer membership to students at a cost of $5.00 per student. This will mean that the cost of student membership will be subsidized to some extent by other memberships and our sponsors.
Rapport financier
Suite au lapse d'activité en 1997 et 1998, la Société n'a pas soumis les formulaires corporatifs qui s'imposent. Cette tâche devra être une priorité première pour le nouveau conseil d'administration. Néanmoins, avec le support généreux de nos commanditaires, la Société est toujours en bonne santé financière. Cette sécurité nous permettra de possiblement entreprendre de nouveaux défis pour nous permettre d'encore mieux réaliser notre mission.
Initiatives
Your new Board will be asked to consider, among other new initiatives, the following:
1. To sponsor a prayer breakfast on or about the feast of St. Thomas More (June 8) which would bring together judges, lawyers and those involved in the political sphere;and
2. To sponsor an award to a law student at the University of Ottawa for an essay written on Moral Responsibility and the practice of law. The essay would be published on the Guild's web site.
Committees
The Following committees and chairs have been set up:
President: Ronald Caza: E-mail: ronald.caza@nelligan.ca
Membership - Joseph Hamon : E-mail: joseph@hamon.on.ca
Finance - Christopher Spiteri: E-mail: spiteri@macjam.on.ca
Annual Meeting - Jean Rhéaume: E-mail: jeanrheaume@rogers.com
Law Student Award - Jean Rhéaume:
The Red Mass - Bill Riley: E-mail: billr@travel-net.com
Prayer breakfast - Michael Collins: MJCollins@barexpress.net
If anyone can assist the chairs in their task, the Guild would ask that an e-mail be sent to the chair.
Conclusion
An organization like the Guild cannot survive, let alone prosper, without at least one person who, through sheer dedication and hard work, makes things happen. For the last three years, that person has been Bill Riley. The Guild owes a huge debt of gratitude to this wonderful person.
The Guild hopes for continued active participation in the Opening of the Courts, the Red Mass and other activities sponsored by the Guild. It hopes to improve upon the achievements that have kept the Guild as a spiritual part of the legal community in Ottawa by expanding on the objectives of our Letters Patent. In this way we will honour our patron and his dedication to the law and to principle.
Encore une fois, je tiens à tous vous remercier d'avoir accepter de vous joindre à notre société qui contiinuera, grâce à votre participation, de jouer un rôle important dans le système judiciaire à Ottawa.