Richard John Neuhaus, R.I.P.

The editor of First Things, Joseph Bottum, has posted the following on the magazine’s Web site:

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.

It is a sad moment for the church catholic in America–he will be sorely missed, not least by me. It is a time of rejoicing in heaven, however, and a time to glorify God for the great gift of a truly marvelous Christian thinker and leader.

Rev Dave Says:

January 8, 2009 at 12:11 pm

I still have tears welling up in my eyes after I clicked on the First Things website half and hour ago. How can the death of someone I never met feel like the death of a beloved friend? “The Public Square” was always the first thing I turned to when the new issue of First Things arrived in the mail. We will miss his wit, his sometimes acerbic pen, and his wisdom.

I think I’ll go play my favorite recording of “For All the Saints” over the sanctuary sound system in his honor.

Requiescat in pace, Father Neuhaus.

Viola Says:

January 8, 2009 at 12:35 pm

All I can say is what Rev Dave said. He is in heaven with the Lord, we are emptied of a great Christian’s presence because of it.

John Erthein Says:

January 8, 2009 at 12:53 pm

What will happen to First Things without his contributions? The journal may well survive, but it will never be the same. Someone like Neuhaus comes along once in a great while.