The Canon Law Society of America Podcast

ROLE OF LAW

Introduction & Presentation

2009 Convention

 This year’s Role of Law recipient has received many earlier recognitions.  Among them is the ‘Order of the Arrow’ which he earned as an Eagle Scout.  As a person with a great zest for life, his curriculum vitae provides not just professional efforts, but also more personal achievements: a football official, a gourmet cook who auctions off dinners for charitable causes, and acknowledgment as the ‘Italian of the year in religion’ from the Italian Sons & Daughters Cultural Association in his area.  Indeed, one of the most charming things about our recipient is his well-developed humanness.  He is a person of great energy and enthusiasm.  Again, his curriculum vitae describes his work in parishes, in his diocese, in health care, with the youth, with diocesan administration and with non-denominational civic projects.  When he was the President of our Society, he attended most, if not all, of the Regional Conventions; having been to a few this past year as your President, I can tell you that he established a standard in that regard not easily met.

But our Role of Law award recognizes someone who has served the People of God in canonical ministry.  In numerous writings of our Society, this is specified as research, study and assistance to the community of God’s people, singularly and collectively.  Our recipient has certainly provided our Society and the wider Church with research and study.  From matrimonial jurisprudence to educational and formational disputes to questions of consultation, he has assisted us in the use of all seven books of the Code of Canon Law.  Currently, he is the one in his diocese responsible for the Department of Canonical Services.  In other words, not only unofficially but officially, he is responsible for the research and study of any and all canonical questions; most of the questions involve if not actual disputes at least disturbing confusion.

 I would be remiss if I did not comment on his most current assistance to the Church as one called upon to judge penal trials of clerics.  As many of you know, it is not easy for a Tribunal, mandated by Rome but sitting locally, to move to a thoughtful conclusion through all the emotion, the bureaucracy, the procedural uncertainties and the particularities of a case.  Our recipient this year adjudicates these cases with canonical skill, common sense and courtesy for all.

In all of this, however, our recipient focuses on the person, the individual, not the office or the title.  In doing that, he demonstrates a real grasp of law in the Church: it is part of the living reality of God’s People.  Context is everything, and our recipient never takes law out of the context of the community.  Indeed, it is his humanity, which I noted at the beginning, that makes his canonical ministry so effective.  As your President, and as a fellow Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Concerns, it is my pleasure to present to you the recipient of the 2009 Role of Law Award from the Canon Law Society of America, the Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Concerns for the diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Fr. Larry DiNardo.

CITATION

ROLE OF LAW AWARD

by Rev. Msgr. Mark L. Bartchak

One of the most pleasant moments of the Annual Convention of the Canon Law Society of America is the announcement and conferral of the Role of Law Award.

According to number 15 of The By-Laws of the Canon Law Society of America, the specific duty of determining the recipient of the Role of Law Award is assigned to the Board of Governors.  The By-Laws do not specify the process, but the criteria to be observed in selecting the recipient are clearly established: (1) Embodiment of pastoral attitude, (2) Commitment to research and study, (3) Participation in development of law, (4) Response to needs of practical assistance, (5) Facilitation of dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups, (6) The recipient shall not be anyone currently serving on the Board of Governors.

The process by which the Board of Governors makes this selection is done thoughtfully and prayerfully.  It is a time for the Board of Governors to take stock in the good work that is done by so many of you, the members of the Canon Law Society of America.  This moment in which the Role of Law Award is conferred is a time for all of us to reflect on our dedication to the purpose of this society as expressed in the very first sentence of our Constitution:

We, the members of the Canon Law Society of America, ever eager to fulfill our role in the Church through the proper use of canon law, hereby proclaim our desire to promote every method of serving God’s people that comes under the concept of law.

While this purpose and dedication pertains to all of us, each year we have the privilege of recognizing one member of the Canon Law Society of America who has been and continues to be ever eager to fulfill that role in the Church.  I thought of sharing the identity of this year’s recipient at the very outset, but I was advised that the proper protocol is to save it to the end.  However, I am sure that you will quickly know the name once you have heard a just few highlights of this person’s life and ministry.

The recipient of the 2004 Role of Law Award is a cleric and a member of an institute of consecrated life.  He was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on November 29, 1929.  He made his first vows as a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate in 1950 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.

He has held a number of positions in his religious community, including professor of moral theology and canon law at the Oblate Scholasticate in Pass Christian, Mississippi from 1957 to 1965.  He was associate pastor and then pastor of St. Patrick Parish, McCook, Nebraska from 1965-1969.  From 1969-1975 he was director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois.  He was provincial superior of the Central United States Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1975-1981 and director general of the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate and secretary of the Oblate Sharing Fund at the O.M.I. Generalate in Rome from 1981-1986.  The missionary dimension of his religious life is also reflected in his appointment to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples by Pope John Paul II, where he served as a consultor from 1985-1993.

This breadth of experience in pastoral duties and religious life added a unique dimension to his role as professor of canon law at St. Paul University from 1986-2000.  He was likewise well-prepared for the role of professor by his own studies.  He received licentiate degrees in philosophy and canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also in Rome.  He later obtained the Diploma of Advocate for the Roman Rota after completing the course at the Studia Rotale.

Our recipient has always been ready to share his knowledge of the law not only in the classroom, but through his writings.  He is the author of numerous articles published in The Jurist, Monitor Ecclesiasticus, Newsletter of the Canadian Canon Law Society, Pastoral Sciences, The Priest, and Studia Canonica.  He has authored or edited several books including his doctoral dissertation, The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate: A Clerical Religious Congregation with Brothers, first published in 1984, with a revised edition published in 1995.  Many of these works have been translated into other languages and published simultaneously in various places around the world, especially for the benefit of the Church in developing nations.  His writings touch on a variety of topics including marriage jurisprudence and procedures, sacraments, clergy issues, and penalties.  His publications are always a treasure-trove of English translations of all sorts of Papal and curial documents.  This individual has gone beyond the classroom and print media in order to educate others in the field of canon law.  His first effort with electronic media was a CD-ROM version of the 1956-2000 volumes of Canon Law Abstracts.

It appears that when our recipient was named professor emeritus in the Faculty of Canon Law at St. Paul University in 2001, he ignored the fine print of the decree which indicated that he was retired.  Instead, he accepted the invitation of the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago to serve as associate episcopal vicar for canonical services and promoter of justice in the Archdiocese.  If that wasn’t enough, he has continued to research in new areas and to update some of his earlier works, always looking for additional information and jurisprudence to share.  Since the promulgation of the USCCB, Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth and the corresponding Essential Norms, he has offered his assistance in educating and advising canonists, bishops, and religious superiors in the proper application of the penal law of the Church.  He is often spoken of with grateful affection by his former students at St. Paul University and is certainly well-regarded by any who have sought his counsel.

I have had the pleasure of participating in meetings with him and I have always been impressed by the way he shares his wisdom and knowledge of the law with a sense of dignity and humility, and with deep respect for the good of the Church and the good of each and every person who is served by its law.  It is obvious that he is inspired by the missionary spirit of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and committed to the mission of promoting every method of serving God’s people that comes under the concept of law.

With gratitude and sincere respect, it is my privilege on behalf of the Board of Governors and the entire membership of the Canon Law Society of America to present the 2004 Role of Law Award to Reverend William H. Woestman of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Role of Law Award Citation

The Reverend Monsignor John J. M. Foster

 At every annual convention since 1973, the Canon Law Society of America has recognized one of its members with the Role of Law Award, the Society’s highest honor. The Board of Governors selects the recipient based on his or her (1) embodiment of pastoral attitude, (2) commitment to research and study, (3) participation in the development of law, (4) a response to needs or practical assistance, and (5) facilitation of dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups.

 This year’s recipient was born and raised in the upper Midwest, attending public schools until the third grade and then switching to Catholic schools through the completion of college. Our honoree was both a high school valedictorian and college valedictorian. Discerning that he was not called to the priesthood, our colleague became a National Defense Education Fellow in the counseling psychology program at Colorado State University. As a fellow, he interned at the VA hospital in Palo Alto, California before earning both masters and doctoral degrees in psychology.

 Following the completion of his training in psychology, tonight’s honoree served as an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Counseling Center at Clarke College before moving to Loras College, where he rose to be an associate professor of psychology and education and Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students. His résumé in the field of psychology highlights his chairmanship of the Iowa Board of Psychology from 1984 through 1990 and again in 2008 and his service as vice president and president of the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards and the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. In 1995, our honoree served as the general secretary of the First International Conference on Licensure, Certification, and Credentialing of Psychologists in New Orleans. Named a fellow of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards in 1993, he received the Association’s Morton Berger Award in 1996.

 Taking the Divine Master at his word to place his talents at the service of the Church, the recipient of this year’s Role of Law Award started his studies for the JCL at the Catholic University of America in 1994. He sat directly behind me in class during the two summers we studied together. In fact, our honoree was the first person I ever heard use the term 1095—as if he knew what he was talking about. Come to find out, he did!

 Graduating from CUA in 1998 with a licentiate in canon law, our colleague has served this Society as the chair of the Marriage Research Committee, on the Board of Governors as secretary and consultor, and on tribunal review teams. He has used his education, training, and experience in psychology in numerous presentations at national and regional canon law meetings; as an advocate, promoter of justice, and judge in penal cases; and as a peritus, assessor, and judge in marriage cases. His publications in both psychology and canon law are numerous.

 In 1979, tonight’s honoree was ordained as a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Since then, he has served as the assistant director and director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate in Dubuque. At the national level, he has served as the treasurer and secretary of the National Association of Diaconate Directors.

 For the first time, the Role of Law Award is presented to a permanent deacon—and a most worthy one at that. Please join me in congratulating Deacon Gerald Jorgensen.

ROLE OF LAW AWARD CITATION
The Reverend Monsignor John J. M. Foster

At every annual convention since 1973, the Canon Law Society of America has recognized one of its members with the Role of Law Award, the Society’s highest honor. The Board of Governors selects the recipient based on his or her (1) embodiment of pastoral attitude, (2) commitment to research and study, (3) participation in the development of law, (4) a response to needs or practical assistance, and (5) facilitation of dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups.

This year’s recipient was born and raised in the upper Midwest, attending public schools until the third grade and then switching to Catholic schools through the completion of college. Our honoree was both a high school valedictorian and college valedictorian. Discerning that he was not called to the priesthood, our colleague became a National Defense Education Fellow in the counseling psychology program at Colorado State University. As a fellow, he interned at the VA hospital in Palo Alto, California before earning both masters and doctoral degrees in psychology.

Following the completion of his training in psychology, tonight’s honoree served as an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Counseling Center at Clarke College before moving to Loras College, where he rose to be an associate professor of psychology and education and Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students. His résumé in the field of psychology highlights his chairmanship of the Iowa Board of Psychology from 1984 through 1990 and again in 2008 and his service as vice president and president of the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards and the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. In 1995, our honoree served as the general secretary of the First International Conference on Licensure, Certification, and Credentialing of Psychologists in New Orleans. Named a fellow of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards in 1993, he received the Association’s Morton Berger Award in 1996.

Taking the Divine Master at his word to place his talents at the service of the Church, the recipient of this year’s Role of Law Award started his studies for the JCL at the Catholic University of America in 1994. He sat directly behind me in class during the two summers we studied together. In fact, our honoree was the first person I ever heard use the term 1095—as if he knew what he was talking about. Come to find out, he did!

Graduating from CUA in 1998 with a licentiate in canon law, our colleague has served this Society as the chair of the Marriage Research Committee, on the Board of Governors as secretary and consultor, and on tribunal review teams. He has used his education, training, and experience in psychology in numerous presentations at national and regional canon law meetings; as an advocate, promoter of justice, and judge in penal cases; and as a peritus, assessor, and judge in marriage cases. His publications in both psychology and canon law are numerous.

In 1979, tonight’s honoree was ordained as a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Since then, he has served as the assistant director and director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate in Dubuque. At the national level, he has served as the treasurer and secretary of the National Association of Diaconate Directors.

For the first time, the Role of Law Award is presented to a permanent deacon—and a most worthy one at that. Please join me in congratulating Deacon Gerald Jorgensen.

Role of Law Award Citation

Dr. Zabrina R. Decker

 Our Role of Law recipient was born in the previous millennium, and lived in the same city up until retirement. The public school system educated our recipient for elementary school and then he attended four diocesan seminaries, three of which are now closed.  He did not have an outstanding academic career, but managed to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, before Mastering Divinity and being ordained a diocesan priest in 1977. 

 Early in his career as a parish priest, he became involved in the newly-established ministry to the separated and divorced, which led him to ask the Tribunal if it needed any assistance. He did not envision that lasting 27 years. After a two year internship at the diocesan tribunal, during which time he became a member of the Canon Law Society of America, he pursued canon law studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, where he obtained his Doctorate of Canon Law in 1987, under the guidance of Frank Morrisey, with Dean Jean Thorn occasionally having to scrape him off the ceiling. 

 After the completion of his degree, he returned to the diocesan tribunal, where he served at various times as Advocate, Promoter of Justice, Defender of the Bond, Adjutant Judicial Vicar, and Judicial Vicar. He also had several terms on the Interdiocesan Court of Appeals. For the last ten years, the job of Vicar for Canonical Services was added to his duties, during which time he had to learn the ins and outs of penal law, often with the help of Bill Woestman’s books.  He also served in parochial ministry at two different parishes, mostly in intercultural settings, and participated in various types of canonical education throughout the diocese, as well as on the presbyteral council and college of consultors.

 After leaving full-time canonical ministry, he was appointed chaplain to the Catholic students in a university setting, where he served until his retirement in 2017. From 1996 to 2009, he was an adjunct professor at the only diocesan seminary he has not closed. Since 2005, he has taught canon law at Catholic Theological Union and, since 2009, in the Catholic University of America’s summer program. He has given several pre-convention workshops for the CLSA, as well as a number of seminars and major addresses.  His articles have appeared in The Jurist and Studia canonica, among other publications.

 I am honored to present this year’s Role of Law Award to Monsignor Patrick Lagges.

ROLE OF LAW AWARD CITATION
Dr. Zabrina R. Decker

Our Role of Law recipient was born in the previous millennium, and lived in the same city up until retirement. The public school system educated our recipient for elementary school and then he attended four diocesan seminaries, three of which are now closed. He did not have an outstanding academic career, but managed to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, before Mastering Divinity and being ordained a diocesan priest in 1977.

Early in his career as a parish priest, he became involved in the newly-established ministry to the separated and divorced, which led him to ask the Tribunal if it needed any assistance. He did not envision that lasting 27 years. After a two year internship at the diocesan tribunal, during which time he became a member of the Canon Law Society of America, he pursued canon law studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, where he obtained his Doctorate of Canon Law in 1987, under the guidance of Frank Morrisey, with Dean Jean Thorn occasionally having to scrape him off the ceiling.

After the completion of his degree, he returned to the diocesan tribunal, where he served at various times as Advocate, Promoter of Justice, Defender of the Bond, Adjutant Judicial Vicar, and Judicial Vicar. He also had several terms on the Interdiocesan Court of Appeals. For the last ten years, the job of Vicar for Canonical Services was added to his duties, during which time he had to learn the ins and outs of penal law, often with the help of Bill Woestman’s books. He also served in parochial ministry at two different parishes, mostly in intercultural settings, and participated in various types of canonical education throughout the diocese, as well as on the presbyteral council and college of consultors.

After leaving full-time canonical ministry, he was appointed chaplain to the Catholic students in a university setting, where he served until his retirement in 2017. From 1996 to 2009, he was an adjunct professor at the only diocesan seminary he has not closed. Since 2005, he has taught canon law at Catholic Theological Union and, since 2009, in the Catholic University of America’s summer program. He has given several pre-convention workshops for the CLSA, as well as a number of seminars and major addresses. His articles have appeared in The Jurist and Studia canonica, among other publications.

I am honored to present this year’s Role of Law Award to Monsignor Patrick Lagges.

Sister Rose McDermott is a Sister of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill. Among her numerous ministries, she has been a teacher and professor, a writer of articles and books, a consultant to bishops and the Holy See, and one bishop's diocesan delegate for institutes of consecrated life. The members of the Canon Law Society of America are extremely grateful to Sister Rose for her dedication to helping anyone who calls upon her. She was the Society's 2002 Role of Law Award recipient.

2002 CITATION

ROLE OF LAW AWARD

 Delivered by Rev. Kevin E. McKenna

 The recipient of our 2002 Role of Law award exhibits in a most profound and worthy way the attributes and qualities that the award is intended to honor. Our recipient has been actively involved in the ministry of canon law in a variety of settings and ministries. Our recipient has contributed most especially in the field of education, beginning in high school and parochial schools in three archdioceses (Philadelphia, Newark and Washington, DC and two dioceses, Camden and Harrisburg). Our recipient received a Bachelor’s degree in English and History at Chestnut Hill College in 1969 and an M.A, in Religious Studies from Providence College in Rhode Island in 1974. Our recipient received a doctorate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in 1979.

Since receiving that degree our recipient has been involved in a variety of teaching positions in the field of canon law, including classes in Canon Law for the Laity at Boston College and Trinity College in Washington; has also taught in seminary formation programs at Mary Immaculate Seminary (Vincentian Seminary) in Northampton, Pennsylvania, St. Charles Archdiocesan Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and seminarians from Theological College and Washington Theological Consortium at Catholic University.

In addition, our recipient has served as a canonist for several Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, has served as a consultant for many bishops, chancellors and Vicars in promoting Consecrated Life.

Our recipient presently serves as a Consultor for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, an appointment renewed in 2000 for five more years.

Our recipient has published articles on consecrated life in Review for Religious, The Jurist, Commentarium pro Religiosi, Studia Canonica, Bulletin de Saint-Sulpice, and Jeevadhara. The award winner has contributed articles to the New Catholic Encyclopedia as well as to the commentaries on the canons on conse­crated life in The Code of Canon Law: A text and Commentary (1985) and New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (2000).

Most importantly – our recipient has been a member of the Canon Law Society of America since 1977, serving on the Board of Governors from 1980 – 1982. She has been Assistant Editor of Roma Replies and CLSA Advisory Opinions since 1991. She is presently Associate Professor of Canon Law at Catholic University of America, where in addition to the work she does with licentiate students, continues to be available to assist any and all who call her as a consultant on matters of Consecrated Life and other issues. And she says that her greatest claim to fame is that she is a Sister of St. Joseph. I am extremely proud to present this year’s winner of the Role of Law Award, Sister Rose McDermott.

Reverend Kevin McKenna was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rochester in 1977. After serving two parishes he was asked to study canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned his JCL. In 1990 he earned his JCD at St. Paul University in Ottawa. Fr. McKenna served as Vice-Chancellor, Chancellor and Director of Legal Services for the Diocese of Rochester until 2000 when he was appointed pastor of St. Cecilia Church. He also served the CLSA as Vice-President, President and Past President, and was presented with the Role of Law Award in 2007. The followng year, Fr. McKenna was appointed as Pastor/Rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral Community.  On top of this service to the Society and hie diocese, Fr. McKenna is author of numerous articles (such as those in America magazine) and books, including A Concise Guide to Canon Law and A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching. He also serves as general editor for Ave Maria Press' Concise Guide series. Fr. McKenna is also a proud, die-hard Toronto Bluejays fans!