Scores mourn Justice Scalia
SC battle brews
WASHINGTON, Feb 21, (AFP): Washington’s elite put political differences aside on Saturday as thousands gathered to pay final respects to US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death last week ignited a fierce battle over his successor.
Vice-President Joe Biden and the court’s Chief Justice John Roberts led a distinguished group of officials, dignitaries and family friends in attendance at the funeral Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Scalia died a week ago of an apparent heart attack at age 79 while on a hunting trip in Texas. It was the first funeral for a sitting member of the US high court since 2005, when Chief Justice William Rehnquist died.
Scalia — a conservative icon — was a devout and tradition-bound Catholic. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, called him “an extraordinary man.”
Scalia
Uncertainty
His death plunged the Supreme Court into uncertainty, leaving what had been a conservative-dominated body evenly divided in a year of blockbuster cases — on abortion, affirmative action, immigration and President Barack Obama’s health care law.
It also set off an epic electionyear battle over Scalia’s successor, whose appointment could tip the body to a liberal majority with the potential to reshape American life far into the future.
Thousands of mourners filled the pews at the vast Romanesque-Byzantine Basilica, the country’s largest Catholic church — where Pope Francis celebrated the Holy Mass in September.
Dozens of white-robed priests were on hand — so laughter ensued when Wuerl said that Scalia had expressed a desire for a “simple parish family Mass.”
The Mass was led by one of the justice’s nine children, Paul Scalia, who is a priest in nearby Arlington, Virginia. Four other sons served as pallbearers.
While the late justice preferred traditional Latin Masses, his own was mostly in English.
In words that to many seemed to refer to his father, Paul Scalia said: “We are gathered here because of one man. A man known personally to many of us, known only by reputation to even more, a man loved by many, scorned by others, a man known for great controversy, and for great compassion.”
Course
He paused, then added, “That man, of course, is Jesus of Nazareth.”
It was because of Jesus, he went on, that “in confidence we commend Antonin Scalia to the mercy of God.”
Scalia’s fellow justices — including Clarence Thomas, who offered a Bible reading — joined several cabinet secretaries and many members of Congress at the Mass.
Former vice president Dick Cheney, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the papal nuncio to the United States, were also in attendance.
Senator Ted Cruz, the conservative Southern Baptist who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, broke away from the campaign trail to attend, CNN reported.
A private burial followed the Mass.
The president and First Lady Michelle Obama were not present Saturday — an absence sharply criticized by some Republicans.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump tweeted during the Mass: “I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Very sad that he did not go!”
The Obamas paid their respects Friday when Scalia’s flag-draped casket lay in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court. A spokesman said the president did not want his presence at the basilica to be a distraction.
While Obama and Scalia had deep political differences, the president had paid homage to Scalia’s undeniable impact over nearly 30 years on the high court.
“Justice Scalia and I had different political orientations,” he said, while adding that “he was a giant on the Supreme Court.”
Within hours of Scalia’s death, leading Republicans made clear that they had no intention of even considering any nominee Obama might put forward in the remaining 11 months of his presidency.