Scalia energized next-gen legal thinkers
marks at a funeral service filled with all the pageantry of a traditional Catholic high Mass, “I will confine my remarks to these few words of greeting and welcome to the many, many people who are here in this magnificent basilica simply to express their respect for this extraordinary man, Justice Scalia.”
The church, dedicated to Mary, is a pilgrimage site where Pope Francis celebrated the canonization Mass for St. Junipero Serra last year — the first-ever such Mass on American soil.
In his homily, the Rev. Scalia subtly acknowledged his father’s controversial legacy on the Supreme Court.
“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,” he said. “That man, of course, is Jesus of Nazareth.”
Catholic funeral Masses do not allow for eulogies by laypeople, and no such tributes were on the program. Instead, the Rev. Scalia used his sermon to speak of his father’s legacy — as a man of faith and family, if not the law — and also of his uncompromising temperament that became an essential part of his public image.
“God blessed Dad with a deep Catholic faith: The conviction that Christ’s presence and power continue in the world today through His body, the church. He loved the clarity and coherence of the church’s teachings. He treasured the church’s ceremonies, especially the beauty of her ancient worship; he trusted the power of her sacraments as the means of salvation,” he said.
One of those sacraments is confession, and Scalia told the story of the time his father some- how found himself in his priest son’s confessional line one Saturday and quickly left. “As he put it later, ‘Like heck if I’m confessing to you!’ ” the Rev. Scalia said.
“The feeling was mutual,” he added, noting that “the Roman collar was not a shield against his criticism.”
Justice Clarence Thomas, Scalia’s closest ally on the bench, and Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society, recited Scripture.
After the Mass, family pallbearers carried Scalia’s casket along a cordon of priests and saluting Supreme Court police officers to a hearse for a private burial.
A separate, more secular memorial service for family and
Dirk Kempthorne, friends will be March 1 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, the Scalia family said Saturday.
Thousands of Scalia’s devoted fans — his expansive family, current and former Supreme Court justices, nearly 100 former law clerks and guests, including Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill — filled the medieval-style church on a cloudy, breezy, warm winter day. All the current Supreme Court justices attended, as did former justices John Paul Stevens and David Souter, sitting on folding chairs in front of the first pew.
Among the many judges in attendance was Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, perhaps the leading candidate among many President Obama may choose from to nominate for Scalia’s seat. Also seen entering the Basilica: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate, and former vice president Dick Cheney.
On Friday, more than 6,000 people paid their respects as Scalia’s body lay in repose at the Great Hall of the Supreme Court. The building remained open to allow everyone in line to get in.
The court’s longest-serving jus- tice was a month shy of his 80th birthday when he was found dead Feb. 13 during a visit to a West Texas ranch.
His death has touched off a harsh debate between the White House and Senate Republicans over Obama’s right to nominate a successor in the waning days of his presidency and the Senate’s right to ignore or defeat that nominee.
That battle will resume following Scalia’s public funeral and private burial. The president, who paid respects Friday in the Great Hall, later was seen carrying a binder with information about potential nominees for weekend reading.
The 79-year-old justice will be remembered as one of the most gifted writers in the court’s history and a fierce debater from the bench who changed the nature of oral arguments. His many lectures, speeches and interviews helped to educate and energize younger generations of conservative legal thinkers.
“He was brilliant. He never felt you were there to invent law from the bench, you were there to interpret. He was full of life and vigor. He lived life to the fullest,” said Dirk Kempthorne, who was sworn in by Scalia as secretary of the Interior in 2006. “What a wonderful, delightful man. He was the epitome of life and did not take himself too seriously.”
“It was a very beautiful service and I think he would have been pleased,” said Republican former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. “It was about the things he cared about most, his faith and his family. The emphasis was not on his time on the court or his impact on the country, but how his faith and his family shaped all those things we all know and celebrate about his life. He was a good guy and a good friend.”
Contributing: Christopher Doering