Friday, 02 December 2005 17:18
Geoff Gnadt
December 2, 2005 is the date for the Society's 2005 CLE Seminar, End of Life Legal, Ethical, and Moral issues in the Wake of the Schaivo and Oregon Assisted-Suicide Cases.
The seminar runs from 9:15 am - 12:25 pm following the regularly scheduled First Friday Mass for December (7:30 am) at the Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union.
3.0 WI CLE credits, including 1.0 ethics/ professional responsibility credits have been applied for. (update: 3.0 CLE credits including 2.0 EPR approved by the WI BBE as of 1/6/06).
Introduction / Moderator:
Professor Alison Barnes, Marquette University Law School
Topics / Presenters:
Moral and Ethical Dimensions of the Lawyers' Potential Role in End-of-Life Treatment Decisions
Charles E. Rice, Professor Emeritus of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
The Oregon Death with Dignity Act and Gonzales v. Oregon: The Future of Federalism
Donald A Daugherty, Jr., Whyte Hirschboeck Dude S.C.
Robert B. Shelledy, Director of Catholic Social Action, Archdiocese of Milwaukee
End-of-Life Law and Legal-Ethics Issues in Wisconsin
Thomas L. Potter, Assistant District Attorney, Milwaukee County
(Panel Discussion moderated by Professor Barnes)
Friday, 02 September 2005 06:18
Geoff Gnadt
A Committee of the St. Thomas More Society of Wisconsin periodically chooses members of the community for recognition of their individual service by granting them the "Faithful Servant Award."
The award is given to the person, persons, or group who "... in the course of religious, legal, community, public or human services, has (or have) exemplified in most outstanding fashion the commitments and steadfast dedication of St. Thomas More, first to Almighty God, and to family life, statesmanship, and the law."
Members are encouraged to submit the names of nominees to any member of Society leadership.
Recent Recipients:
2009 - Tom Mountin, Esq.
2008 - Christopher Wolfe, Phd.
2007 - Bishop Joseph Perry, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
2005 - Donald J. Schuenke (Posthumously)
Mr. Schuenke retired as the Chairman of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1994 after 31 years of service. Throughout his career and during his retirement, Mr. Schuenke worked tirelessly for Catholic Schools. He was one of the founding members of Partners Advancing Values in Education (PAVE), which has provided millions of dollars in scholarships to low-income youth, and served on boards of numerous corporations, foundations and organizations serving the greater Milwaukee community. Mr. Schuenke also chaired the fundraising drive to restore the Basilica of St. Josaphat. Mr. Schuenke was formerly Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Marquette University where he graduated with a liberal arts degree in 1950 and a law degree in 1958. Mr. Schuenke?s wife of 51 years, Joyce, will accept the Faithful Servant Award on behalf of her husband.
2004 - Margaret A. Farrow
St. Thomas More has long been identified as the patron saint of lawyers, in 2000 Pope John Paul II declared him to also be the Patron of Statesmen and Politicians. In this tradition the St. Thomas Lawyers Society was\pleased to present its 2004 Faithful Servant Award to Margaret A. Farrow whose service and career have illustrated many of the values Thomas More represented in his life.
Margaret A. Farrow has served as a community leader and elected official in Southeast Wisconsin since the 1970's. Her political experience began in 1976 when she was elected to the Elm Grove Village Board, where she served as a trustee until 1981, when she was elected village president. She won election to the State Assembly in 1986 and special election to the State Senate in 1989. She was re-elected to the Senate three times and served there until her appointment as the first female lieutenant governor of the State of Wisconsin. She is presently serving as the Director of Local Government Services for Whyte, Hirschboeck, Dudek Government Affairs LLC.
Born and raised in Kenosha, Wis., Farrow earned a bachelor?s degree from Marquette University. She has served on a dozen civic and volunteer committees and boards, including many Church-related initiatives. She was recently appointed to the Archdiocesan Review Board for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. She is a graduate of St. Catherine High School in Racine, Wis., and is a long-standing member of the Christ Child Society. Farrow and her husband, John, have five adult sons and 11 grandchildren. She is a member of St. Mary?s parish in Elm Grove.
Other Past Recipients:
2003 - Dean Howard Eisenberg (posthumously)
2002 - Brother Bob Smith
2001 - Joseph Tierney, Jr. (posthumously)
1999 - Ronald L. Wallenfang
1998 - Fr. John Raynor, S.J.
1997 - Honorable Rudolph Randa
1996 - James Cameron
1992 - Fr. Dennis C. Klemme
1991 - E. Michael McCann
1990 - Thomas A. Bailey
1989- Police Chief Robert J. Ziarnik
1988 - Donald & Marjorie Steinmetz
1987 - Theodore J. Hodan
1986 - Anthony P. Uebelher
1985 - (Dean) Robert Boden (posthumously)
1984 - Honorable Leo B. Hanley
1983 - Charles A. O'Neill
1982 - Archbishop William Edward Cousins
1980 - Patricia C. Crowley
1979 - Honorable Francis X. Swietlik
1978 - Carol DeMasters, Maria Hern, Harry G. John, Betty J. Thompson, Congressman Clement J. Zablocki
1975 - Inaugural Year of the Award- State Representative Joanne Duren
In the following years, no award was granted: 1976, 1977, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000
Thursday, 01 September 2005 06:22
Geoff Gnadt
For those of you interested in the past First Friday topics, the old web First Friday content is still available. Saint Thomas More Society of Wisconsin
Wednesday, 31 August 2005 06:00
Geoff Gnadt
Give me, good Lord, a full faith and a fervent charity,
a love of you, good Lord, incomparable above the love of myself;
and that I love nothing to your displeasure but everything in an order to you
Take from me, good Lord, this lukewarm fashion,
or rather cold manner of meditation and this dullness in praying to you.
And give me warmth, delight and life in thinking about you.
And give me your grace to long for your holy sacraments
and specially to rejoice in the presence of your blessed body,
sweet Saviour Christ, in the holy sacrament of the altar,
and duly to thank you for your gracious coming.
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Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:59
Geoff Gnadt
ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION
ST. THOMAS MORE LAWYERS SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name and title of this Organization is ?St. Thomas More Lawyers Society of Wisconsin" ("Society").
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
Consistent with the canon law and official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the purposes of the Society are:
(1) To foster in its members and in lawyers generally the high standards of ethics and professional responsibility exemplified by its patron, St. Thomas More (born February 6, 1478, martyred, July 6, 1535), who as a servant of God, family man, lawyer, statesman and public servant showed lawyers and lay people how rightly to order their lives.
(2) To inculcate in its members and in the public generally a deeper understanding of their dependence upon Almighty God as the source of all human rights.
(3) To promote the study and application of theology, philosophy and jurisprudence to the end that the system of law may better apply eternal truths to the solution of everyday legal problems.
(4) To sponsor the annual Lawyers? Red Mass and First Friday Masses throughout the year and otherwise to invoke God?s blessing upon the legal profession and persons in government.
(5) To promote the spiritual and moral welfare of its members.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1. Membership is subject to the approval of the Board of Governors ("Board") and consists of the following classes:
(1) Any lawyer or law student who subscribes to and is dedicated to the purposes of the Society and pays dues for the current Membership Year or who paid dues for the prior Membership Year.
(2) Any other person to whom the Board grants other membership status upon terms and conditions consistent with the purposes of the Society.
SECTION 2. VOTING RIGHTS. Each Member shall be entitled to one (1) vote.
ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS
SECTION 1. ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS. An annual meeting of the Members shall be held at a time and place designated by the Board or the Executive Committee for the purpose of electing Officers and Governors, and for the transaction of such other business as may come before the meeting.
A notice of the annual meeting shall be sent to the Members at least ten (10) days prior thereto.
SECTION 2. BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETINGS. The Board shall meet at least twice a year. The President or a majority of the Board may call a meeting of the Board to be convened on not less than five (5) days notice at a time and place designated by the President.
SECTION 3. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS. The Executive Committee shall meet periodically at a time and place to be determined by the President.
SECTION 4. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings of the Members of the Society may be called by either the President or the Board. Written notice stating the date, time and place of any special meeting of Members shall be sent to each Member entitled to vote at such meeting not less than five (5) days nor more than forty (40) days prior to the date of said meeting at the direction of the President or the Board. The purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called shall be stated in the notice.
SECTION 5. QUORUM.
(1) The presence of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee constitutes a quorum for a meeting of the Executive Committee.
(2) The presence of a majority of the members of the Board constitutes a quorum for meeting of the Board or of the Members.
ARTICLE V. BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SECTION 1. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD. The Board shall be composed of the Officers, the elected Governors, the Chaplain(s), and the immediate past president. Each member of the Board is entitled to one (1) vote at any meeting of the Board. Voting by proxy is not permitted.
SECTION 2. POWERS. The Board shall supervise and direct the affairs of the Society and shall be responsible for compliance with these Articles. It shall control and manage the property of the Society with the power to appropriate funds as determined by these Articles. It shall fill all vacancies occurring on the Board with the person selected to serve as a Governor until the next meeting of the Members of the Society. It has full power to act for the Society in carrying out the objects and purposes for which the Society is formed.
SECTION 3. ELECTION. At each annual meeting there shall be elected (i) not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) Members of the Society to serve as Governors for a period of three (3) years and (ii) one or more Members of the Society to serve the balance of any term of any Governor (other than an Officer or Chaplain) who shall have resigned or been removed from office. The number of elected Governors shall not at any time exceed fifteen (15). No Governor shall be eligible to serve for more than two (2) consecutive full terms, and after serving two (2) consecutive full terms such person shall not be eligible to be reelected a Governor until not less than twenty-three (23) months shall have passed since the expiration of such person's last term as a Governor. This provision will not prevent a Governor from being elected an Officer and thereby continuing to serve on the Board or resuming service on the Board prior to expiration of such 23-month period.
SECTION 4. ABSENCE. In the event of the unexcused absence of an Officer or Governor (other than a Chaplain) from three (3) consecutive meetings of the Board, the Board may remove such Governor from the Board or from the Office such person may hold as the case may be. The Board may fill the vacancy thus caused with the person selected to serve until the next annual meeting.
SECTION 5. CHAPLAIN(S). One or more Roman Catholic Priests, appointed by His Excellency the Archbishop of Milwaukee and approved by the Board, shall serve as the Society's Chaplain(s). A Chaplain shall serve as a Governor and shall be entitled to vote on all matters coming before the Board.
SECTION 6. CHAIRMAN.
The President of the Society or in the President?s absence the President-Elect shall act as Chairman of the Board, presiding at all meetings and performing such other duties as may be fixed by these Articles or by resolution of the Board.
ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS
SECTION 1. OFFICERS. The Officers of the Society are the President, President-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary. No two (2) offices may be held by the same person.
SECTION 2. ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE. The Officers of the Society shall be elected by the Members at the annual meeting, and each Officer shall serve until such person's successor shall be duly elected or until the Officer's prior resignation or removal. If the election is not held at the annual meeting, it shall be held as soon thereafter as convenient. Any vacancy in an Officer position may be filled for the balance of the term at any meeting of the Board. No one shall be elected President for more than two (2) successive terms.
SECTION 3. REMOVAL. Any Officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Board whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Society would be served thereby.
SECTION 4. PRESIDENT. The President shall be the principal officer of the Society and, subject to the direction of the Board, shall administer all of the business of the Society and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board. The President shall preside at all Board meetings and all meetings of the Members.
SECTION 5. PRESIDENT-ELECT. In the absence of the President or in the event of his or her inability or refusal to act, the President-Elect shall perform the duties of the President. The President-Elect shall also perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board.
SECTION 6. TREASURER. The Treasurer shall have charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all the funds and securities of the Society, receive and give receipts for money due and payable to the Society from any source, and deposit all such monies, in the name of the Society in such depositories as shall be designated by the Board and keep a register of the names and post office address of each Member of the Society. In general, the Treasurer shall perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer, including payment of all bills and periodically providing the Board with an accounting of the Society's finances, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board.
SECTION 7. SECRETARY. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Board, Executive Committee and Annual meetings, seeing that all notices are duly given in accord with the provisions of these Articles or as required by law and shall be custodian of the records of the Society. In general, the Secretary shall perform all the duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
SECTION 1. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
(a) MEMBERSHIP. If so authorized by the Board from time to time, there shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the Officers of the Society, the Immediate Past President, and two (2) other members of the Board appointed by the President subject to ratification by the Board. The President shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
(b) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY. The Executive Committee shall have the power to handle all administrative functions which may arise between regular meetings of the Board and to perform such other functions as may be provided in these Articles. All executory actions of this committee shall be subject to ratification by the Board.
SECTION 2. NOMINATING COMMITTEE. Not less than twenty (20) days prior to the date of each annual meeting, the President shall appoint a Nominating Committee of not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) Members of the Society. The Nominating Committee shall select a nominee for each office and for Governors to be elected at the annual meeting as provided in Article V, Section 3. The list of nominees for each office and for the Board as selected by the Nominating Committee shall be submitted to the Members of the Society at the annual meeting. This list shall be included in the notice for the annual meeting. Ten (10) or more Members entitled to vote at the annual meeting may nominate other candidates for any office or for the position of Governor. Said nominations shall be in writing signed by the nominators and shall be filed with the Secretary of the Society at or prior to the annual meeting. When any nominations are filed with the Secretary in accord with the provisions of this Article, the Secretary shall forthwith present said slate of nominees to the meeting of the Members immediately after the list of candidates selected by the Nominating Committee has been submitted to the meeting.
SECTION 3. OTHER COMMITTEES. The President may from time to time appoint such other committees as may be necessary to carry on the work of the Society. The President shall appoint the Chairman of the respective committees. At least one member of the Board shall serve on each such committee and the committees shall exercise authority only to the extent provided by the President or by resolution of the Board. A majority of the members of a committee present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VIII. BOOKS AND RECORDS
The Society shall keep books and records of account and shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its Members, the Board, the Executive Committee and such other records as the Board may designate, and shall keep a record of the names and addresses of the Members entitled to vote. All books and records of the Society may be inspected by any Member or Member's agent or attorney upon reasonable advance written notice.
ARTICLE IX. DUES
SECTION 1. ANNUAL DUES. The Board shall determine the amount of annual membership dues. Annual dues for law students may be reduced by a majority vote of the Board. The Membership Year for which annual dues are payable is the period of October 1 to September 30.
SECTION 2. PAYMENT OF DUES. Annual dues for a Membership Year shall be payable in advance on or before the first day of October of such Membership Year unless the Board determines otherwise; dues for a Membership Year paid after October 1 shall entitle the person to membership through the end of such Membership Year and, as provided in Article III, Section 1, a person who pays dues for a Membership Year shall continue as a Member until the end of the succeeding Membership Year.
SECTION 3. DEFAULT AND TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP. When a Member shall be in default in the payment of dues for an entire Membership Year, his or her membership shall terminated at the end of such Membership Year.
ARTICLE X. RULES FOR MEETINGS
All meetings of the Members, the Board, and any committee authorized herein shall be conducted in accord with these Articles.
ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES
These Articles may be amended or repealed and new Articles adopted by a majority of the Board.
ARTICLE XII. BY-LAWS
The Board, by a majority vote of those present at any meeting of the Board, may adopt By-Laws for the Society which are not inconsistent with these Articles of Organization.
Friday, 08 July 2005 01:59
Geoff Gnadt
John Kass wrote a great piece about the London bombings that contains a quote from Churchill - it might as well have been from St. Thomas More himself.
"Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination. But for everyone . . . this is the lesson: Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in except to the convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force." - Sir Winston Churchill
Chicago Tribune news : News columnists
Friday, 01 July 2005 04:00
Geoff Gnadt
On today's feast of St. Thomas More, I would like to remind you that the St. Thomas More Lawyers' Society (STMLS) First Friday Group will meet again on Friday, July 1, 2005. Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family, located on the second floor of the Marquette Alumni Memorial Union (15th and Wells). Mass will be followed by a presentation from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. over a continental breakfast (suggested donation - $4.00) in Room 305 of the same building. Parking is available on Wells Street or in one of the nearby campus lots. Gregory J. Meuller will address our group about Nativity Jesuit Middle School on Milwaukee's south side. Nativity was founded by Father Bill Johnson, S.J., in the early 1990's and has run an extremely successful program educating young hispanic males in the middle school age group. Father Johnson served as president of the school from its founding until June of 2005. Greg Meuller is his successor as president, and his first official act as president on July 1st will be to address our group. Please consider joining us for this monthly tradition of prayer and fellowship, and feel free to bring a friend or two, lawyers and non-lawyers alike. If you cannot join us for Mass, feel free to join the discussion afterward, or vice versa.
Monday, 27 June 2005 02:11
Geoff Gnadt
Calling on the tradition of St. Thomas More, our Pope, writing at the time as Cardinal Ratzinger, links the willingness to lie with greater moral decay.
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