Papal Awards 2024
St Mary’s Cathedral Chapter Hall, 12 December 2024
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one.
Take honour from me and my life is done.
Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try.
In that I live, and for will I die.[1]
So says Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, in Shakespeare’s The Life and Death of King Richard II in which I played the bit-part of a herald, aged fifteen, when it was staged at Riverview. Mowbray, you will recall, was accused of treason and murder by the king’s cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, and was incensed that his reputation was being sullied by these heinous allegations. Death before dishonour was his code and he challenged Bolingbroke to a duel rather than “forget, forgive; conclude and be agreed”, as the king counselled.
But what are Christians to make of honour and honours? In our scriptures, honour is most famously due to parents, and by extension to other elders and authorities. We are to honour the covenant, the Sabbath, marriage and bodily life. Above all we honour God and every human being as His image.[2] We esteem their dignity, gifts and achievements and, in Paul’s words, “outdo one another in showing honour.” (Rom 12:10)
Yet on the face of it all this talk of pursuing and giving honour conflicts with Christian modesty and humility. Jesus tells us that to do good for the sake of recognition diminishes the worth of our deeds; indeed, we might gain the whole world in terms of wealth or praise and lose our very soul.[3] On the other hand, He honoured people Himself for their generosity.[4] How are we to reconcile these things?
As usual St Thomas Aquinas show us the way through. He taught that doing virtuously those things that contribute to the common good is more worthy than health and wealth.[5] Doing what is honourable reflects theological hope—the hope that good can and will be achieved—and expresses virtues such as fortitude and magnanimity. It should be celebrated by the community that benefits from its fruits and is set a good example. Honouring such actions and attitudes declares what we value.
St Thomas thought that honouring certain acts is also a matter of justice. It would be ingratitude, as much as bad social pedagogy, not to honour some achievements. A society that does not recognise excellence will not achieve excellence. To fail to honour excellence in the name of egalitarianism is to misunderstand both excellence and equality. Though one dare not say so in today’s climate, justice requires discrimination: that we treat people differently with respect to relevant differences, such as their needs and desires, and the same where there are no relevant differences. It is unjustly discriminatory to treat people differently where there are no relevant differences (e.g. paying women or Aborigines less for the same work) but it is also unjustly discriminatory not to treat people differently where there is a relevant difference (e.g. making no special provision for the particular health needs of women and indigenous people, or giving every child a prize deserving or not).
So, not giving honours can be as unjust as giving too many or to the wrong people. Both fail to respect the equal dignity of human beings, which calls each of us to excel in our particular station and be accountable for our talents and opportunities (cf. Mt 25:14-30). While it can be virtuous many despise worldly honours, Aquinas observes, in resisting the privilege associated with recognition, they never avoid doing things worthy of honour.
In this less-than-perfect world many won’t be honoured who should be and many will be recognised who don’t deserve it. As Iago points out in Othello, “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving.”[6]
Happily the divine honours system is much more accurate. But even we poor earthly judges can recognise virtuous and magnanimous souls who devote themselves not just to personal gain but to excellence of activity and the common good. This is at heart of the chivalric ideal embedded in honours like papal ones. The knight will protect or assist the weak, vulnerable and poor, contribute to the common good, and be a wise steward of gifts and opportunities—whether or not anyone is watching.
Today we join the Holy Father in honouring two men for their service. Nicholas Moore and Daniel Kwok have shared and share their many gifts for the betterment of their communities and the building up of God’s Kingdom. Through family and parish life, various charitable initiatives and mentorships, contributions to education, the arts and research, men’s groups, advocacy to government, and service to the needy through the Order of Malta, our award recipients today have served humbly and with dedication.
There was to have been a third recipient of Papal Honours today, Mr Stephen Sedgwick AO. Sadly, Stephen passed away last month after a short illness but I was able to visit him in hospital in Canberra and confer the Knighthood of the Order of St Gregory the Great for his service to the Church and community. Throughout his life Stephen served admirably in the federal public service and gave powerful witness to the Gospel in his parish, in assistance to the Bishops Conference, and as inaugural Chair of the Catholic Schools NSW.
We honour the service of our award recipients, who have applied themselves not just for their own benefit but to share God’s love with others. They have lived out their baptismal calling to do what is honourable. Congratulations and thank you! And thanks be to God!
[1] Richard II, 1.1.181-190.
[2] Honour parents (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; Sir 3:8; 7:27; Mal 1:6; Mt 15:14; 19:19 et par.; Eph 6:1-3), other relatives and elders (e.g. Lev 19:32; Tobit 10:12), civil and ecclesiastical authorities (Rom 13:1-7; 1Tim 5:17; 1Pet 2:17). Honour the covenant and commandments (Mt 15:1-9; Mk 7:1-13; Lk 18:20), the Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11; 31:14; Dt 5:14; Isa 58:13), marriage () and bodily life (Mal 2:14; Mt 19:6; 1Cor 6:20; Eph 5:1-33; Heb 13:4; 1Pet 3:1-7); to honour God above all (1Sam 2:30; Ps 22:23; Prov 3:9; Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8; Mk 7:6; Jn 5:23; 1Cor 6:20; 1Tim 1:17; 6:1,16; Heb 2:9; Rev 4:9-11; 5:12-13; 7:12) and every human being (Ps 8:5-6; Rom 12:10; Gal 5:14; 1Tim 5:3; 1Pet 2:17).
[3] Mt 6:1-21; 16:26; 23:2-12; Lk 14:8-14; 21:1-4; Rom 12:2; Phil 2:3-8; Col 3:12-13; 1Jn 2:15; Jas 4:6-10; 1Pet 5:6.
[4] E.g. Lk 11:13; 19:1-10; 21:1-4.
[5] STh II-II, 129, 1; 3; http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/F012cpPublicAwards.htm
[6] Otello, 2.4.268–70.