The Canon Law Society of America Podcast

Sharon Euart, RSM: Using Canon Law to Assist the Faithful in Knowing and Responding to the God of Mercy

Sister Sharon Euart is a Sister of Mercy who has served as the Executive Director of the Resource Center for Religious Institutes in Silver Spring, MD, since 2014. Prior to that, she was the Executive Coordinator of the Canon Law Society of America. Sister Sharon has served the CLSA in a number of other capacities, most notably as President of the society, as chairperson of the Publications Advisory Board, and as editor for a number of Societal publications. Sr. Sharon was the CLSA's 2015 Role of Law Award recipient.

Chorbishop John Faris: Ecumenical Initiatives? Deus lo vult

Each year the Canon Law Society of America presents its distinguished Role of Law Award to an individual considered to be outstanding in the field of canonical science. The By-Laws of the Society directs the Board of Governors to select a person who demonstrates in his or her life and legal practice the following characteristics:
Embodiment of pastoral attitude, commitment to research and study, participation in the development of law, response to needs or practical assistance, facilitation of dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups.
These qualifications are a concise re-statement of the constitutionally-expressed purposes of the Society.
The person to whom this award is given is viewed by us as one who embodies all that we, as members of the Society hold dear, as one to whom we can look for guidance and inspiration. Such an official statement alone is perhaps the greatest honor that can be bestowed on anyone – to be selected by one’s friends and peers as outstanding among them.
This year’s recipient of the Role of Law Award was ordained a priest of the Maronite Church in 1976. After being awarded a doctorate in Eastern canon law by the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome in 1980, he served in the administration of the Eparchy of Saint Maron for sixteen years in several offices, the last being Protosyncellus (Vicar General). In 1991, he was ordained a chorbishop of the Maronite Church. He worked at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association from 1996 to 2009. In 2009, he was appointed pastor of Saint Louis Gonzaga Church in Utica, New York.
Our honoree this year has served in a wide variety of ministries in the Catholic Church. He has lectured at the Catholic University of America for more than a decade. He has written a commentary on the structures and governance of the Eastern Catholic Churches as well as numerous articles on the Eastern Churches, Eastern canon law, and ecumenism. He has served in the past as consultor of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Conference Liaison Committee for Latin and Eastern Church Affairs.
In the field of ecumenism, the recipient of this year’s Role of Law Award is currently a member of the Catholic delegation of the Joint Working Group, a liaison body of the Holy See and the World Council of Churches. He also serves on the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation and the United States Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation. He has been deeply involved for many years with the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher. For his work on behalf of Christians in the Holy Land, he was recently awarded the Golden Palm, the highest honor given by the Order.
Our honoree has generously served the Canon Law Society of America. He is a past-president of the Society. He currently is the chair of the Research and Development Committee and a member of the Governance Committee and Publications Committee. He has served in the past as chair of the Eastern Law Committee and as Consultor. He was also chair of the ad hoc committee responsible for the preparation of the most recent English translation of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
Tonight we honor a friend, a colleague, an educator, a pastor, and a fellow canonist. He is truly a Catholic who breathes with both lungs of the Church. It my privilege to present the 2011 Role of Law Award, on behalf of the Canon Law Society of America and the Board of Governors, to Chorbishop John D. Faris.

Msgr. John Alesandro's Role of Law Response from 1986

In 1986 when he won the CLSA's prestigious Role of Law Award, Monsignor John Alesandro delivered an abridged version of his prepared response. The full talk was published in the CLSA Proceedings from the 1986 Convention. In this recording, Msgr. Alesandro reads his unabridged talk, injected with the sense of humor that his friends and fellow canonists love about him. This recording was made on May 14, 2020. 

Monsignor John Alesandro: Valuing the Practical and Pastoral Application of Canon Law

Monsignor John Alesandro is a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Center, New York. His unwavering dedication to the Church is obvious when he speaks of the many ministerial roles he has played, both in his diocese and in the Canon Law Society of America. In addition to his canon law expertise, Monsignor Alesandro earned a degree in civil law in his "spare time" in the 1990s. He also is an accomplished pianist and a connoisseur of Bernard Lonergan's theological writings. It was no real surprise that Monsignor Alesandro was honored by the CLSA in 1986 as the Role of Law Award recipient. He continues to inspire and encourage young canonists in the United States and throughout the world today. 

Paul Golden, CM: Role of Law Response 2005

CITATION: ROLE OF LAW AWARD

 Each year the Canon Law Society of America presents its distinguished Role of Law Award to an individual considered to be outstanding in the field of canonical science. The By-Laws of the Society directs the Board of Governors to select a person who demonstrates in his or her life and legal practice the following characteristics:  

 Embodiment of pastoral attitude, commitment to research and study, participation in the development of law, response to needs or practical assistance, facilitation of dialogue and the interchange of ideas within the Society and with other groups.

 These qualifications are merely a concise re-statement of the constitutionally-expressed purposes of the Society.

 The person to whom this award is given is viewed by us as one who embodies all that we, as members of the Society hold dear, as one to whom we can look for guidance and inspiration. Such an official statement alone is, perhaps the greatest honor that can be bestowed on anyone – to be selected by one’s friends and peers as outstanding among them.

 The 2005 honoree is a priest and a religious. He was born in San Francisco, California in 1939, entered the Congregation of the Mission, the Vincentians, in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1965. Active in his religious community, he has served the Vincentians and their ministries in many capacities: as teacher, formation director, college professor and president, and most recently as Founding Director of Vincentian Canonical Services.

 In addition to involvement with his religious community this year’s recipient of the Role of Law Award has been an active member and representative of our Society for over thirty years. He served as Secretary in 1973-74, Vice-President in 1987-88 and President in 1988-89. He has been a presenter at conventions and contributed generously to Roman Replies on a variety of topics of interest to canonists and church leaders.

 This thirty-third recipient of the Role of Law Award is well know to all as a committed churchman imbued with the missionary spirit in the Vincentian tradition, a dedicated teacher, and a person convinced of the pastoral nature of the Church’s law as it is grounded in service to the people of God.

 Tonight we honor a friend, a colleague, an educator, and a fellow canonist. It my privilege  to present the 2005 Role of Law Award, on behalf of the Canon Law Society of America and the Board of Governors, to  Reverend Paul L. Golden of the Congregation  of the Mission.

                                                                                                 Sister Sharon Euart, RSM

                                                                                                 October 5, 2005

Father Paul Golden: Acting Justly, Loving Tenderly and Walking Humbly with Our God

Father Paul Golden, the CLSA's  2005 Role of Law honoree, is a priest and a religious. He was born in San Francisco, California in 1939, entered the Congregation of the Mission, the Vincentians, in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1965. Active in his religious community, he has served the Vincentians and their ministries in many capacities: as teacher, formation director, college professor and president, and as Founding Director of Vincentian Canonical Services. In addition to involvement with his religious community Fr. Paul has remained an active member and representative of our Society for over 45 years. He served as the BOG Secretary in 1973-74, Vice-President in 1987-88 and President in 1988-89. He has been a presenter at conventions and contributed generously to Roman Replies on a variety of topics of interest to canonists and church leaders. We are immeasurably grateful to Fr. Paul Golden for his dedication and pastoral presence in our Society. 

Sr. Victoria Vondenberger's Role of Law Award Response from 2017

Sister Victoria Vondenberger delivered her response to the Role of Law Award Citation that was read by Board President Msgr. Bruce Miller during the Convention Banquet in October of 2017.

Sister Victoria Vondenberger, RSM: Law, Mercy, Justice and the Pie of Truth

Sister Victoria Vondenberger is a Sister of Mercy who has served as head of the Tribunal in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati since she received her licentiate degree in canon law. Sister Vicki has been a member of the CLSA since 1991 and has served the Society through her participation on various committees, as a member of the Board of Governors, and as an author and editor of numerous publications. She recently presented a webinar on The Defender of the Bond, which was attended by dozens of CLSA members. CLSA members can access her webinar on the CLSA website (www.clsa.org).

Msgr. Fred Easton Role of Law Award Response from 2003

CITATION

                    ROLE OF LAW AWARD

                     Rev. Lawrence J. O’Keefe

 As a tantalizing clue to the identity of tonight’s Role of Law Honoree (for those who have not already discovered it), I will tell you at the outset that our recipient is a ham . . . . radio operator and an accomplished musician. We had considered asking him to give us a concert in lieu of an acceptance speech, but this would be too radical a departure from our tradition. Why should we, in contrast to our forebears, be entertained with fine music when we should be listening to a fine talk?

Our Society’s Code of Professional Responsibility delineates in rather eloquent terms the qualities to which the canonist  should aspire. He or she is portrayed as, “a person firmly committed to Christ and the Church ... marked by zeal for justice in the Church, aware that while each individual must sacrifice for the common good, true communion is advanced only when the dignity and fundamental rights of each person are held inviolable.” The Professional Responsibility Code further stipulates: “Since the laws of the Church are to be interpreted and administered in the spirit of justice and equity, issuing in charity, the canonist strives to be a person of compassion, emotional balance and sound judgment, committed to the pastoral care of the people of God.”

The person whom we honor tonight with the Role of Law Award exemplifies these qualities to a remarkable degree. Having first entered the seminary in 1954, he was ordained a priest in 1966. In 1969 he was awarded a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Lateran University in Rome, and since that time has served as an official of his Archdiocesan Tribunal in one capacity or another. In 1980 he was named as Officialis or Judicial Vicar for his Tribunal, and has filled that post ever since. In August, 1997 he was appointed a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II.

Our Honoree has been generous in his service to the Society: He has presented papers at past conventions, been a contributor to the Church Finance Handbook and served as General Editor of the Festschrift in honor of Rev. Lawrence Wrenn. In 1994 he was elected Secretary of the CLSA and in 1997 was elected as Vice-President / President-elect. He presided at our 1999 Convention in Minneapolis.

2002 was a banner year for the service our Honoree rendered to the CLSA: he accepted an appointment to edit Canon Law Digest XV, to chair the Special Task Force to Prepare for the Presidential Hearing on the Canonical Response to Sexual Abuse Issues at the Cincinnati convention, and finally a re-appointment as Chair of the Special Task Force with the new mandate to develop the “Guide to the Implementation ...” Under his skilled leadership the Guide was published in February, 2003 and has won critical acclaim for its canonical precision and pastoral practicality. With the two “task force” assignments successfully accomplished, our Honoree currently serves as Chair of the successor On-Going Committee on the Canonical Aspects of Questions Regarding the Sexual Abuse of Minors.

The impressive canonical achievements of the 2003 Role of Law Honoree are exceeded only by his impressiveness as a loving priest and a thoroughly great-hearted man. It is truly a privilege for me, on behalf of the Canon Law Society of America, to present the 2003 Role of Law Award to Msgr. Frederick C. Easton, of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Monsignor Fred Easton: Remaining a Lifelong Student of Canon Law

Monsignor Frederick Easton is a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He has been a member of the Canon Law Society of America since 1970. During his years with CLSA, he has served as Secretary of the Board of Governors (1994), President of the Board of Governors (1998), a Hearing Officer for the Committee on Professional Responsibility (2008-2010), a Presenter at the 2010 CLSA Convention, Co-Chair of the Commission to Study Regional/National Penal Tribunals, and a past-President Mentor for the Clergy Committee. He is fluent in Latin,  Italian and English. We are grateful to Monsignor Easton for sharing his experiences with us in this podcast.