RIP Justice Scalia

[HopefulHeart]

Sad news. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-found-dead-in-texas/

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

[Nihil Obstat]

The king's faithful servant, but God's first.

[bardegaulois]

46 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

The king's faithful servant, but God's first.

So he showed us with a most interesting choice of headwear all three years ago.

Requiescat in pace.

[dominicansoul]

back when i was in the convent, Justice Scalia came to our morning Mass one day.  We didnt know he was there until we saw him in line for Holy Communion.  Leaving the chapel after Mass, i noticed him kneeling in fervant prayer in a pew in the back.  

 

May his time in purgatory be short!  

 

 

[little2add]

who knew

The Scalias have five sons: Eugene, John, Paul, Matthew, and Christopher; and four daughters: Ann, Catherine, Mary, and Margaret. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Antonin Scalia joked that they had so many children because they're Catholic. “Well, we didn’t set out to have nine children. We’re just old-fashioned Catholics, you know? Playing what used to be known as ‘Vatican roulette,'” Scalia said.

link: http://heavy.com/news/2016/02/antonin-scalia-wife-maureen-mccarthy-scalia-children-kids-age-photos-bio-death-dead-memorial/

[little2add]

9 kids, he said he played what used to be known as ‘Vatican roulette" 

haha

He will be hard to replace

Good man, he was

[enitharmon]

Regarding his Catholic character: Scalia wrote this letter to the person who preached at the funeral of Justice Lewis Powell. (cited from here http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/antonin-scalia-christian/ where more context is given)

Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, D. C. 20543

CHAMBERS OF
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA

September 1, 1998

Dr. James C. Goodloe
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
1627 Monument Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23220-2925

Dear Dr. Goodloe:

I looked for you unsuccessfully at the luncheon following the funeral yesterday. I wanted to tell you how reverent and inspiring I found the service that you conducted.

In my aging years, I have attended so many funerals of prominent people that I consider myself a connoisseur of the genre. When the deceased and his family are nonbelievers, of course, there is not much to be said except praise for the departed who is no more. But even in Christian services conducted for deceased Christians , I am surprised at how often eulogy is the centerpiece of the service, rather than (as it was in your church) the Resurrection of Christ, and the eternal life which follows from that. I am told that, in Roman Catholic canon law, encomiums at funeral Masses are not permitted—though if that is the rule, I have never seen it observed except in the breach. I have always thought there is much to be said for such a prohibition, not only because it spares from embarrassment or dissembling those of us about whom little good can truthfully be said, but also because, even when the deceased was an admirable person—indeed, especially when the deceased was an admirable person—praise for his virtues can cause us to forget that we are praying for, and giving thanks for, God’s inexplicable mercy to a sinner. (My goodness, that seems more like a Presbyterian thought than a Catholic one!)

Perhaps the clergymen who conduct relatively secular services are moved by a desire not to offend the nonbelievers in attendance—whose numbers tend to increase in proportion to the prominence of the deceased. What a great mistake. Weddings and funerals (but especially funerals) are the principal occasions left in modern America when you can preach the Good News not just to the faithful, but to those who have never really heard it.

Many thanks, Dr. Goodloe, for a service that did honor to Lewis and homage to God. It was a privilege to sit with your congregation. Best regards.

Sincerely,

Antonin Scalia

Edited February 17, 2016 by enitharmon

[Luigi]

President Obama will go to Scalia's wake, but not his funeral. Vice President Biden will attend the funeral.

[CatherineM]

That's probably a first for a president to not attend the funeral of a sitting justice. 

[PhuturePriest]

32 minutes ago, CatherineM said:

That's probably a first for a president to not attend the funeral of a sitting justice. 

The Scalia family asked people who are not close friends to not attend the funeral. They welcomed everyone to the viewing tomorrow, however.

[KnightofChrist]

33 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

The Scalia family asked people who are not close friends to not attend the funeral. They welcomed everyone to the viewing tomorrow, however.

They would not have refused the President of the United States. Just as they did not refuse the VP. I really hope he doesn't go golfing instead.

[Amppax]

7 hours ago, CatherineM said:

That's probably a first for a president to not attend the funeral of a sitting justice. 

Dwight Eisenhower apparently wasn't able to attend Justice Robert Jackson's funeral in 1954 (though I'm seeing conflicting articles on that point). 

[Peace]

And there I had thought that this thread would be about Justice Scalia. 

[Amppax]

I watched some of the wake. Really emotional watching Fr. Paul Scalia lead everyone in prayer, you could tell he was fighting back tears at certain points. 

[Peace]

Fr. Scalia's eulogy was quite good. I hope that many non-Catholics tuned in to hear it.