Richard John Neuhaus, 1936-2009 (Updated)

Few Christians – few Americans, for that matter – have exemplified the role of public intellectual during the past 50 years as well as Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of First Things, author of The Naked Public Square and many other books, and consistent Christian voice in culture and politics.   He passed away this morning from complications related to cancer.

Fr. Neuhaus influenced countless people through his writings and personal relationships. Some remembrances of his life include:

• Joseph Bottum, editor of First Things
• New York Times’ obituary
• Ross Douthat of The Atlantic
• Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary

If you see others that we ought to link to, please include them in the comments.

Update: A few more links of interest:

• The excellent blog GetReligion (which focuses on mainstream media coverage of religion) have two posts, one of Fr. Neuhaus’s death itself, and another on media coverage of his and other Catholics intellectuals’ role in the public square.
• An essay by Fr. Neuhaus about death, published in February 2000. (HT: Tom)

Update #2: NY Times columnist David Brooks writes of Fr. Neuhaus in a column entitled “In Defense of Death.” (HT: Bob)

Micheal Hickerson

The former Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network, Micheal lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three children and works as a web manager for a national storage and organization company. He writes about work, vocation, and finding meaning in what you do at No Small Actors.