Father Richard John Neuhaus (1939-2009) -- RIP

"Strengthened spiritually by the graces of the Sacrament of the Sick, and surrounded by the love and prayers of family and friends, Father Richard John Neuhaus was called home to the house of the Father at about 0930 EST today. May God grant him the reward of his labors, and give consolation and peace to those who loved him and who will carry on his work."

-- from an email from George Weigel at 10:07 AM this morning

Richard John Neuhaus (May 14, 1936 – January 8, 2009) was a prominent Catholic priest and writer born in Canada and living in the United States, where he had become a naturalized citizen. He was the founder and editor of the monthly journal First Things and the author of several books, including The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1984), The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987), and Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2006).

While Neuhaus in his earlier years was a socio-political liberal, he moved increasingly to the right over the years until he became a major national figure in the neo-conservative movement during the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq war. Despite differences of opinion with the Vatican over US foreign policy, he became a good friend of Pope John Paul II with whom he met frequently during the latter's pontificate.

Neuhaus converted from an ELCA Lutheran background to Catholicism on September 8, 1990, and was ordained a priest, a year later, by John Cardinal O'Connor. He was a commentator for the Catholic television network EWTN during the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Neuhaus's 'defection' to Catholicism sent a shock wave through the ELCA Lutheran world, and a number of prominent ELCA Lutherans have since followed his lead across the Tiber, including Reinhard Huetter of Duke University, (2004), Leonard Klein, Editor of the Lutheran Forum, and Philip Max Johnson and Paul Abbe, both members of the conservative Lutheran Society of the Holy Trinity (all in 2006).

I had the pleasure of meeting Fr. Neuhaus some years ago when he was invited to be a presenter at the annual Aquinas-Luther Conference hosted by the Center for Theology at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carlolina. He gave an engaging presentation at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, and I remember talking with him as he stood in front of the Cromer Center, cigarette in hand, and regaled us with amusing stories. Neuhaus was good friends with the late Rev. Michael McDaniel, founder of the Lenoir-Rhyne Center for Theology, as well as its present director, Rev. J. Larry Yoder, both Lutheran "evangelical catholics" who saw Lutheranism as a movement "within the church catholic" and were sympathetic to Neuhaus's concerns.

Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, you will be sorely missed.

Requiescat in pace.

Related:

Joseph Bottum, "Richard John Neuhaus, 1936–2009" (First Things, January 8, 2008, 10:15 AM):

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o’clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness that sent him to the hospital the day after Christmas, caused by a series of side effects from the cancer he was suffering. He lost consciousness Tuesday evening after a collapse in his heart rate, and the next day, in the company of friends, he died.

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.

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.

Funeral arrangements are still being planned; information about the funeral will be made public shortly. Please accept our thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

In Deepest Sorrow,

Joseph Bottum
Editor
First Things

[Acknowledgement: Prof. E.E., Msgr. R.M.; "Richard John Neuhaus" (Wikipedia).]