Bishop James McHugh, A Pro-Life Champion For More Than 35 Years

By Ernest L. Ohlhoff

Bishop James T. McHugh, head of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, and one of the greatest pro-life champions of our time, died December 10 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 68 years old.

Bishop McHugh was "there at the beginning" - - and actually before! His involvement in the pro-life movement predated by many years the U.S. Supreme Court's January 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade decision that legalized

abortion on demand in the United States. He was one of the Movement's early visionaries who saw the storm clouds of abortion coming and began building the right to life movement. Tirelessly, he sought to convince others that legalized abortion would become the moral and social crisis of this century. When the great epic history of the pro-life movement is finally written, the name of Bishop James T. McHugh will undoubtedly appear over and over again at the most important decision points in our movement's struggle to restore legal protection to the unborn child. His vast knowledge of public policy issues and solid understanding of the political process provided pro-life leaders with invaluable guidance in forming strategies and building organizations capable of confronting the challenge of those who were promoting a culture of death.

In May 2000 Bishop McHugh received the Proudly Pro-Life Award for the NRLC Educational Trust Fund.

From 1967 through 1978, then-Monsignor McHugh served as director of the Division of Family Life within the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. As director of this important office, McHugh was put in a crucial position that allowed him to help change the course of history.

The most critical of Bishop McHugh's 35+ years in the pro- life movement came early in its existence. He continually provided crucial assistance and guidance to help pro-life leaders from many states establish and then build up pro-life groups in their home areas. In addition he helped bring pro-life leaders together from around the country to form a unified national organization - - NRLC - - capable of educating the public at large and strong enough to begin the process of influencing national and state public policies on abortion.

During the ensuing years, Bishop McHugh could always be counted on to provide leadership and advice to help strengthen the pro-life movement.

Bishop McHugh was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 25, 1957. From 1965 to 1975, then-Msgr. McHugh served as the director of the Family Life Bureau of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference. From 1972 to 1978, he also served as the director of the bishops' Office for Pro-Life Activities.

In 1988, McHugh was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Newark. In 1989 he was appointed the Bishop of Camden, and in February 1999, he was installed as Coadjutor Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York.

Bishop McHugh also served as program director of Natural Family Planning for NCCB and as a Special Advisor to the Mission of the Permanent Observer to the Holy See at the United Nations. He was part of the Holy See's delegation to the UN conferences in Bucharest, Mexico City, and Cairo. In addition, he was a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Family.

When historians look back, they will see that Bishop McHugh cast a giant shadow in the formation and development of the pro- life movement. More often than not, his quiet, strategic efforts and input were done behind the scenes--but they were crucial to the pro-life movement's growth and successes. One of the true heroes of the pro-life movement has passed on. His loss will be felt in many ways by us all.

But the course of history has already been changed because Bishop James McHugh heard the call, picked up the cross of life, and never wavered in his commitment to the unborn child.

His legacy to the pro-life movement is truly profound. Many of the tactics he created, the organizations he formed, and the leaders he identified, trained, and inspired will live on - - a living legacy which will continue until the protection of law is restored to the unborn, the disabled, the medically dependent, and the elderly. May God richly reward him for his faithfulness.