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Moral Compass Fr. Neuhaus Dies
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| Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a leading pro-life leader, writer and informal adviser to President Bush, died on Thursday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press) |
Pro-Life Leader And Writer Dies At 72
By John P. Connolly, The Bulletin
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, a leading intellectual who helped build an influential coalition of conservative Protestants and Roman Catholics and informally advised President George W. Bush, died Thursday at the age of 72 from the side effects of treatment for cancer.
A Lutheran clergyman who became a Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Neuhaus helped break down the historic mistrust between evangelicals and Catholics over their theological differences.
In the 1990s, with Chuck Colson, Fr. Neuhaus edited, Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission, about how the two traditions could together advocate for shared values, including opposition to abortion.
“Fr. Neuhaus was an inspirational leader, admired theologian and accomplished author who devoted his life to the service of the Almighty and to the betterment of our world,” Mr. Bush said in a statement. “He was also a dear friend, and I have treasured his wise counsel and guidance.”
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit writer, said Fr. Neuhaus was “an intelligent, impassioned and articulate defender of Catholic orthodoxy, and arguably the leading conservative Catholic voice in this country.” Liberal-leaning Jesuits were often a target of Fr. Neuhaus’ commentary.
He had been diagnosed with a serious cancer in late 2008. In December, First Things announced that Fr. Neuhaus had once again entered the hospital for a systemic infection.
Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in New York City, administered the last rites to Fr. Neuhaus.
“My tears are not for him — for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted,” wrote the editor of First Things, Joseph Bottum. “I weep, rather for all the rest of us. As a priest, as a writer, as a public leader in so many struggles, and as a friend, no one can take his place. The fabric of life has been torn by his death, and it will not be repaired, for those of us who knew him, until that time when everything is mended and all our tears are wiped away.”
Born to a Lutheran family with 8 children, Fr. Neuhaus was ordained a Lutheran minister and served as a pastor in Brooklyn. In the 1960s, he was an activist pastor in the largely black ghetto of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. From the pulpit, Fr. Neuhaus preached against the Vietnam War, co-founding the Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam.
Fr. Neuhaus abandoned left-wing activism in the 1970s, choosing instead to work against abortion following Roe v. Wade. In 1984, he established the Center for Religion and Society as part of the Rockford Institute. In 1990, he converted to Roman Catholicism and founded First Things, a journal published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The purpose of the magazine is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society.
In 1991, Fr. Neuhaus was ordained a Catholic priest. He has written numerous columns for First Things and four books.
Fr. Neuhaus was an unofficial advisor to Mr. Bush, who called Fr. Neuhaus “Fr. Richard.” Mr. Bush said Fr. Neuhaus “helps me articulate [religious] things.” Administration officials said Fr. Neuhaus had a fair amount of influence on life issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Funeral arrangements are still being planned; Mr. Bottum said that information about the funeral would be made public shortly.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
A Lutheran clergyman who became a Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Neuhaus helped break down the historic mistrust between evangelicals and Catholics over their theological differences.
In the 1990s, with Chuck Colson, Fr. Neuhaus edited, Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission, about how the two traditions could together advocate for shared values, including opposition to abortion.
“Fr. Neuhaus was an inspirational leader, admired theologian and accomplished author who devoted his life to the service of the Almighty and to the betterment of our world,” Mr. Bush said in a statement. “He was also a dear friend, and I have treasured his wise counsel and guidance.”
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit writer, said Fr. Neuhaus was “an intelligent, impassioned and articulate defender of Catholic orthodoxy, and arguably the leading conservative Catholic voice in this country.” Liberal-leaning Jesuits were often a target of Fr. Neuhaus’ commentary.
He had been diagnosed with a serious cancer in late 2008. In December, First Things announced that Fr. Neuhaus had once again entered the hospital for a systemic infection.
Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in New York City, administered the last rites to Fr. Neuhaus.
“My tears are not for him — for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted,” wrote the editor of First Things, Joseph Bottum. “I weep, rather for all the rest of us. As a priest, as a writer, as a public leader in so many struggles, and as a friend, no one can take his place. The fabric of life has been torn by his death, and it will not be repaired, for those of us who knew him, until that time when everything is mended and all our tears are wiped away.”
Born to a Lutheran family with 8 children, Fr. Neuhaus was ordained a Lutheran minister and served as a pastor in Brooklyn. In the 1960s, he was an activist pastor in the largely black ghetto of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. From the pulpit, Fr. Neuhaus preached against the Vietnam War, co-founding the Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam.
Fr. Neuhaus abandoned left-wing activism in the 1970s, choosing instead to work against abortion following Roe v. Wade. In 1984, he established the Center for Religion and Society as part of the Rockford Institute. In 1990, he converted to Roman Catholicism and founded First Things, a journal published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The purpose of the magazine is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society.
In 1991, Fr. Neuhaus was ordained a Catholic priest. He has written numerous columns for First Things and four books.
Fr. Neuhaus was an unofficial advisor to Mr. Bush, who called Fr. Neuhaus “Fr. Richard.” Mr. Bush said Fr. Neuhaus “helps me articulate [religious] things.” Administration officials said Fr. Neuhaus had a fair amount of influence on life issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Funeral arrangements are still being planned; Mr. Bottum said that information about the funeral would be made public shortly.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
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