Addressing members of the John Carroll Society at the Red Mass brunch on Oct. 2, 2022 at the Capital Hilton hotel, the group’s president, Andrew Cook, noted that it strives to help members deepen their Catholic faith and make a difference in the community.
Both those priorities took center stage that morning, first with the 70th annual Red Mass sponsored by the John Carroll Society at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., which seeks God’s blessings on those who work in the administration of the law. The homilist at the Red Mass, Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre, New York, encouraged people working in law and government to rely on daily prayer and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Then at the Red Mass brunch that followed, four local attorneys and an area law firm received the John Carroll Society’s 2022 Pro Bono Legal Service Awards for their volunteer work with the Catholic Charities Legal Network of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
With about 1,000 members from professional and business life in the metropolitan area, the John Carroll Society supports the archbishop of Washington through volunteer legal and medical networks and also sponsors spiritual, intellectual and social activities.
The Catholic Charities Legal Network provides information, limited legal advice, and referrals to private attorneys and other legal services programs for D.C. and Maryland residents. Potential clients assisted by attorneys and law firms volunteering in the Legal Network must fall within 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Clients are assisted with legal matters like consumer debt and bankruptcy, employment issues, family law including child custody and domestic violence cases, landlord and tenant housing issues, public benefits, and estate planning including will drafting and advanced healthcare directives. James D. Bishop, Esq., serves as the Legal Network’s director.
In the last fiscal year, the 786 volunteers in Catholic Charities Legal Network provided about 5,500 pro bono hours valued at more than $3.2 million, assisting 1,603 adults with pro bono civil law cases.
The four attorneys receiving the 2022 Pro Bono Legal Service Awards were Michael J. Francese, John D. Renneisen, Timothy F. Maloney and Sharon Taylor Smith, and the law firm receiving that award was Crowell & Moring, LLP.
Michael J. Francese, Esq., a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, serves as chairman of the Catholic Charities’ Legal Network’s Advisory Council. In addition to conducting second-stage client intake for the Legal Network each month, he has vetted and recruited people to serve on its Advisory Council and has accepted pro bono cases from the Legal Network and provided professional guidance on employment-related cases. Francese earned his juris doctor degree from the George Washington University School of Law after earlier earning a bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
John D. Renneisen, Esq., a senior counsel at O’Melveny & Meyers LLP, provides legal advice on environmental issues at his law firm. He has served with Catholic Charities Legal Network for 25 years, including with client in-person and second stage consultations and by assisting the network’s director and staff in evaluating complex civil law cases. Renneisen earned an undergraduate degree from Williams College, a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a juris doctor degree from Duke University.
Timothy F. Maloney, Esq., a partner at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, serves on Catholic Charities Legal Network’s Advisory Council. At his law firm, he has represented clients in civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower and business litigation cases. Maloney and his law firm have accepted pro bono cases from the Legal Network, and he has advised the network’s staff and volunteer attorneys on civil law matters. After earning an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, Maloney earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1979-94.
Sharon Taylor Smith retired in 2017 after serving as a part-time attorney with Catholic Charities Legal Network for 16 years. Since retiring, she has volunteered with second stage client intake for the network and assists the network’s director with evaluating the program’s more difficult cases for legal merit and proper disposition. She has also served as a mentor to the network’s staff and attorney volunteers on family law matters, and has assisted with editing the network’s annual reports, newsletters and grant proposals. Taylor Smith earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia and her juris doctor degree from the George Mason University School of Law.
For the past 33 years since the Catholic Charities Legal Network was formed in 1989, the Crowell & Moring LLP law firm has accepted pro bono cases from the network on a variety of civil law matters. Attorneys from Crowell & Moring volunteer to conduct in-person intake on a weekly basis for the Legal Network, and John E. McCarthy Jr. and Susan M. Hoffman, who are among the partners at that law firm, have served on the Legal Network’s Advisory Council.
At the Red Mass brunch, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory thanked members of the John Carroll Society for their generous support of the Catholic Church’s outreach, and he commended Msgr. Peter Vaghi, the society’s chaplain, for his leadership of the group.
Before offering the opening prayer, Msgr. Vaghi invited the society’s members to attend a series of first Thursday talks that he will be holding at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, where he serves as pastor. The series on “The Seven Sacraments Revisited,” kicks off on Thursday Oct. 6, with a talk at 7:15 a.m. on “The Sacraments: Transforming Encounters with Christ,” followed by Confessions at 7:45 a.m. and Mass at 8:15 a.m.
“The sacraments are the building blocks in the life of every faithful Catholic,” Msgr. Vaghi said, noting that the series looks at the importance of the sacraments in the post-pandemic world. The priest is the author of books on faith, prayer, the commandments and the sacraments published by Ave Maria Press.
Upcoming talks in the series will be on Baptism (Nov. 3), Confirmation (Dec. 1), the Sacrament of the Sick (Feb. 2), Penance (March 2), the Eucharist (April 6), Matrimony (May 4) and Holy Orders (June 1).
The John Carroll Society will be offering its 25th annual fall retreat on Saturday Oct. 29 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Msgr. William King, the seminary’s vice-rector, will direct the retreat. The society’s website has information on registering for the retreat.
