"We are fools for Christ’s sake," says Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Washington D.C., Nov 22, 2004 / 22:00 pm

At a Mass attended by hundreds of lawyers and judges in St. Daniel the Prophet Church in Wheaton on Sunday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave a speech on faith and the legal profession, saying that "we are fools for Christ's sake. We must pray for the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world."

The event, reports Monday’s Chicago Tribune,  was organized by the  St. Thomas More Society of DuPage County, a society dedicated to promoting the ideals of Saint Thomas More, a lawyer beheaded by King Henry VIII for refusing to transfer his allegiance from the Pope to the king. On Sunday Scalia became the first recipient of the Award of St. Thomas More.

"He's tough. He's principled, and he's thoroughly honored," said U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in introducing Scalia, who spoke of the derision that Christians, and Catholics in particular have to suffer at the hands of the “sophisticated” and “wise of the world.”.

St. Thomas More, noted Scalia, was an example who practiced his religious belief despite the opprobium of the public. "More was not seeing with the eyes of man, but with the eyes of faith," he said.

All should have "the courage to have their wisdom regarded as stupidity," said Scalia to the mixed faith audience, who gave him a standing ovation.