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Y>< go S | CD s 00 oS cog C\) CO O is ■ CO g°§ C'**( Q_ <V) ir The ☆ Sou Diocese of Savannah if hern Ooss VoL 81, No. 20 Thursday, May 17, 2001 $.50 PER ISSUE Clarence Thomas, Janet Reno visit Savannah Bishop J. Kevin Boland prays the invo cation at the Savannah Bar Associa tion’s annual Law Day luncheon May 11. In the foreground is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. By Jan Skutch J udges are human too. U. S. Supreme Court Jus tice Clarence Thomas told a group of Savannah lawyers and judges May 11 he was glad to be home, then talked of his dreams as a child and experience over 10 years on the high court. The justice, his hair turning white from the job, then turned his attention to Savannah attorney Joseph B. Bergen, a parishioner of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist.. Bergen and five other lawyers were recognized by the Savannah Bar Association during its annual Law Day luncheon for reaching 50 years in practice. “I came home to be with Joe Bergen as he celebrates his 50th year,” Thomas said. After telling the lawyers that Bergen had been a friend of the Thomas family and referring vaguely to a matter involving a family member, Thomas suddenly was silent, fighting back tears. Thomas and his wife, Virginia, took custody of his sister’s 6-year-old grandson in 1997. The child, Thomas’ grand-nephew, lives with the couple in their Fairfax, Virginia home. “Suffice it to say, it had to be done very quickly, very quietly, very sensitive ly, very thoroughly,” Thomas said. In the past, he has spoken of his relationship with the boy to school children and civic groups. After a few moments, Thomas resumed his praise, pausing on a few occasions. When he apologized for getting emotional, a lawyer in the back of the room responded, “You’re home.” “Thank God for Joe Bergen,” said the justice, who is known for his dignified appearance. “He has been a friend when my family needed friends—he has never asked for a single thing.” Thomas was witty and insightful during his talk, telling the legal group he would not lecture them. “I didn’t come home to do that,” he said. Thomas grew up in the Pin Point community and on East 32nd Street, attending parochial schools. His family remains here. “I am always pleased to be here,” Thomas said. “Georgia is my home. Savannah is home, the low- country.” He returned to that theme several times, telling the group he was one who “grew up here and who believes in this town.” “The whole purpose for leaving was to come back,” Thomas said. “A little of me certainly wish es I had come back home.” He recalled the Carnegie and Savannah public libraries as places where he went to dream. “I dreamed there was a world out there worth pursu ing—I saw one 11-year-old there and he looked like me—there’s so much out there that kills dreams.” Thomas, who is in his 10th year on the Supreme Court after bitter confirmation hearings, said the justices are among the finest group he has ever worked with. “I have yet to hear the first unkind (Continued on page 11) Wanted: Single Swiss men, ready to give lives for pope While the Swiss Guard recruits’ shouted oaths on May 6 were as , enthusiastic as in previous years, they were far fewer in number— and left the tiny fighting force 13 men below its 110-soldier mandate. After 500 years of sometimes tormented but often glorious his tory in service to the Holy See, the Swiss Guard is facing a recruitment slump. Recruits must be unmarried Catholic men between the ages of 19 and 30, who are at least 5 feet 8 inches tall and have earned a high school degree or apprenticeship cer tificate. They must have completed the Swiss military's four-month “boot camp,” required of all Swiss men. Right: Sweating beneath medieval armor in a small Vatican courtyard, 26 young men stepped forward one- by-one to vow at the top of their lungs to defend the pope, even at the cost of their lives. Catholic Boy Scouts —page 3 D.C.C.W. has challenging convention —page 6 Dublin parish prepares to expand —page 7