St. Thomas More a saint for our times, attorney says

St. Thomas More lived nearly 500 years ago, but he remains as relevant as ever.

That’s the view not only of Omaha attorney Matt Heffron but also of the famous late author and Catholic apologist G.K. Chesterton.

Heffron will talk about St. Thomas More – and one of the saint’s greatest fans, Chesterton – on Monday, June 22, the memorial of St. Thomas More.

His talk will follow Mass at a fitting church, St. Thomas More, at 4804 Grover St. in Omaha.

Heffron – a member of Mary Our Queen Parish in Omaha – works as senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, a national nonprofit law firm that champions life, family and freedom.

Matt Heffron FILE PHOTO

Because of his job, Heffron knows religious persecution isn’t a thing of the past. For more than 25 years, attorneys at the Chicago-based Thomas More Society have defended Christians, pro-life advocates and others from heavy-handed employers, organizations and government officials.

Heffron said the celebration of St. Thomas More on his feast day is overdue. The Monday gathering will be co-hosted by the Thomas More Society and Spirit Catholic Radio.

Father Thomas Weisbecker, pastor of St. James Parish in Omaha, will celebrate the 5:30 p.m. Mass. Heffron’s brief talk is titled “St. Thomas More Is More Important Today Than at Any Time in the Last 500 Years.”

An added benefit of being in attendance: The Church grants a plenary indulgence to those who worship at Mass and visit a church named after a saint on that saint’s feast day.

Heffron said he hopes the St. Thomas More celebration will become an annual event.

St. Thomas More had a rare personality and a rare influence on history, Heffron said.

The saint and his approach to adversity continue to be pertinent.

G.K. Chesterton said in 1929: “Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years’ time.”

Now, as those 100 years close in, Heffron can see the wisdom of Chesterton’s words.

St. Thomas More lived in a time of great change – of social, cultural and moral chaos.

“Does that sound anything like what we’re dealing with today?” Heffron said in a phone interview.

In both eras, he said, people have been challenged by issues of truth, sexuality and marriage, and spiritual life.

St. Thomas More’s response is needed today, Heffron said, “to keep your eyes on Christ.”

The saint was a lawyer, statesman, author and intellectual – and “just a delightful guy,” Heffron said. “He was happy, humorous and genuine. It seemed like everybody wanted More on their team. Henry the Eighth particularly wanted him, and that’s what eventually caused the downfall of Thomas More, because he was a man of conscience.” King Henry VIII wanted St. Thomas More to persuade the pope to grant the king a marriage annulment, “and that’s where Thomas More drew the line.”

But the saint’s most costly stance was his refusal to accept the king as head of the English Church instead of the pope.

St. Thomas More was canonized in 1935, along with another martyr of his time, Bishop John Fisher.

In 1999, the Law Society of Great Britain named St. Thomas More “the lawyer of the millennium.”

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