Editor's note. Please be sure to drop me your thoughts at daveandrusko@gmail.com.

In an Internet-driven world, news gets out very quickly. Even so, many of you may not know that Fr. Richard John Neuhaus died this morning. The following appeared on the web page of First Things, the very influential publication of which Fr. Neuhaus, a pro-life stalwart if ever there was one, was editor in chief.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Richard John Neuhaus, 1936–2009

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

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

I shall be writing about Fr. Neuhaus today and tomorrow for reasons I hope become obvious quickly. Part Two today is a story I wrote about Fr. Neuhaus for NRL News in 1982. I titled it "The Pro-Life Movement: Keepers of the American Dream." Part Three discusses the speech Fr. Neuhaus delivered at the 2008 NRLC National Convention.

My now 26-year-old story was an attempt to convey the riveting core of a powerful speech Fr. Neuhaus delivered at National Right to Life's annual convention. His remarks were at the time, and remain today, the finest explication of the pro-life ethos I have ever been privileged to hear.

Fr. Neuhaus was one of those men who seemed to know just about everyone and be able to write brilliantly about virtually any topic. I first met him in 1982 in Cherry Hills, New Jersey. Had he not been a kind and gentle soul, I would have been thoroughly intimidated.

There I was, less than a year into my position as NRL News editor, talking to without question the single most mesmerizingly articulate individual I'd ever encountered. We would have other, lengthier chats on other occasions, but I remember vividly on that first occasion how awestruck I was by his ability to turn every block-headed media stereotype about the Pro-Life Movement on its head.

Then, as now, the media elite reveled in the bizarre notion that a Movement that seeks to include more categories of people under the law's protective umbrella is somehow "reactionary." Neuhaus said the Pro-Life Movement was radical, "not by virtue of how far out it is but by virtue of how deep and central is the question it raises." That question, which Neuhaus said is the beginning of all moral judgment and all just law, "is simply this: Who, then, is my neighbor?"

Indeed, the party of the status quo--the reactionary party--is pro-abortion. As the author of a new book that Neuhaus reviewed for First Things put it, "Pro-choicers have little to gain from engaging their opponents and from the deliberative norms that facilitate persuasion."

After all, pro-abortionists have the Media Establishment in their pocket, which allows them to say the most mindless drivel without challenge. This is absolutely crucial since, reliant as they are on the most wobbly bromides, they have nothing that coherently furthers the case for abortion on demand.

I'll be talking more about Fr. Neuhaus tomorrow. Let me conclude today with this, taken from the 1982 NRL News story:

"Neuhaus said he believes 'this great testing of the American experiment' will prevail on the side of life. And yet, if that hope is deferred for a time, 'we must not be discouraged,' he said. 'We are recruited for the duration, we must be long distance radicals; we must never give up.'"

Please read Part Two, which is "The Pro-Life Movement: Keepers of the American Dream," a story I wrote after Fr. Neuhaus delivered a speech to the 1982 NRLC convention, and Part Three, which discusses the speech Fr. Neuhaus delivered at the 2008 National Right to Life Convention.

Part Two -- The Pro-Life Movement: Keepers of the American Dream
Part Three -- "The Culture of Death Is an Idea before It Is a Deed"