Sir Thomas More, RIP

I too saw "A Man for All Seasons" when I was in high school -- the diocesan seminary h.s. in Detroit. Fr. William Cunningham, our English teacher and the co-founder of Focus: Hope (an organization created after the 1967 riot to "eradicate racism in Detroit" -- a still-unfinished effort!) insisted on taking our entire class to see the Academy Award winning movie. It became, and continues to be the most influential film of my life; when I decided to request a discharge from the Navy several years later as a conscientious objector, Thomas More's/Paul Scofield's words guided me: "I am the King's good servant...but God's first."

Good to see your reflection, Michael! We members of Pax Christi in Syracuse remember you fondly! I, too, was captivated first by the play that our English teacher, Sr. Bernarda, took us to on a grand night in our senior year. And seeing Scofield in the movie at various times has always renewed my spirit. The words from Robert Bolt-- though without solid historical foundation, I'm told -- of More on the scaffold when he tells the executioner that "you send me to God" and is chided by the Cardinal about his presumption -- "You sound too confident, Sir Thomas" --and replies, "He would not refuse one who comes to him so blithely," have remained for me a touchstone of confidence in God's mercy in much the same way. The fusion of intellect and spirit into love remains palpable.