Fr. Neuhaus's Funeral

A friend and I attended the funeral service of Fr. Richard Neuhaus this past Tuesday morning at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in New York. The church itself is a rather plain and not particualrly noteworthy older building (1920s?), spare but not modern, traditional, simple, and suitable for reverence. It was a beautiful service witnessing to the Faith of Fr. Neuhaus, that is, the Faith to which he belonged and and which he served, a Faith shared, certainly, by nearly all who filled the church for the two-hour service. (It was standing room only.) Five bishops served (Cardinal Egan was in Rome but sent a message read from the pulpit after the liturgy), and perhaps 65 priests. The Sisters of Life were there in good number. I was struck how much hymnography has done the work of ecumenism, as did Fr. Neuhaus. We sang The Church's One Foundation, a magnificent hymn, words penned by Samuel Welsey, I believe. I saw many familiar faces afterwards--Protestants and Catholics--for Fr. Neuhaus touched the lives and work of many, including us here at Touchstone, serving as a speaker at several of our conferences, including a roundtable on ecumenism almost ten years ago, held not so many blocks from the church where his funeral mass was served . Our conversation years ago on a cold day in January included Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox, and the conversation continues. Praying together, singing hymns together, even when we cannot (yet) take Communion together, is perhaps the best form of conversation, where we listen to the Lord to whom we pray and to whom we give our hearts in worship, trying to discern what he requires of us as Christians in the time in which we live. Fr. Neuhaus was a determined and bracing leader in that Great Conversation, who will be missed.

Comments

[Neville L.]

I believe you mean Samuel Weasley, brother of John, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny (among others). He did write some beautiful hymns and contributed to the development of the Chocolate Frog confection. He had a bit of a falling out with Percy (of course, most everyone did) but was reconciled before his death.

[GL]

Actually, Samuel Stone wrote the words to The Church's One Foundation.

[Tony Esolen]

Do trolls really have to come out for funerals? Neville, whoever you are, why are you not ashamed of yourself? Whatever else you may think of him, that's your fellow man who has died, and many people on this site knew him personally and are mourning him. Others, like me, are indebted to him though we did not know him. Did your mother and father never teach you any manners?

[Ruth]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Ruth

http://www.infrared-sauna-spot.info

[W.E.D. Godbold]

Ah, yes. Trolls *and* advertisers...

[ben]

I have enjoyed reading Fr. Neuhuas for years and his writing has made me a better person and a better Christian. When I recived the new issue of First Things this week, I was heartbroken to read the last "Public Square".

I have been sure to remember him in my prayers, I hope too that he continues to pray for all of us, those who knew him only through his written words, now that he is in the next life.

[Rev Dave]

Away from the trolls and advertisers and back to the music...

Upon hearing of Father Neuhaus' death, I sat at my desk for a while and gave thanks for his life. I've been a First Things reader for over a decade and greatly appreciate his books "Death on a Friday Afternoon" and "As I Lay Dying" (which acquires a greater poignancy with his passing). After that, I went into our sanctuary with my favorite CD of "For All the Saints," plugged the CD player into the sound system, and sang along. It seemed like an appropriate thing to do in honor of an old soldier of the faith, now gone to his reward.

Lyrics by William How, Music, "Sine Nomine," by Ralph Vaughn Williams

For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

[Neville L]

Tony, I intended no disrespect to RJ Neuhaus who I honor as a dedicated pastor and highly gifted sociological journalist of religion and politics. I must have done a poor job of poking fun at the avoidance of the fifteen seconds of time it would have taken for James M. Kushiner to google the correct composer and lyricist of a hymn and to get the spelling of the name right. I apologize. (I was raised by my grandmother.)

[GL]

Neville,

As I already noted, Samuel Stone was the lyricist. And, in fact, Samuel Wesley was the composer. So, Jim was mistaken as to who penned the words, but you are wrong as to the last name of the composer, who Jim mistakenly posted as the lyricist.

[Patrick Molloy]

Immaculate Conception Church and its surrounding complex, where the funeral was held, have some ecumenical interest.

From an architectural guide:

These Francois I-style buildings were built as an outpost of Grace Church (Episcopal) in 1894 and were purchased by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in 1943. Their picturesque forms might be found in the Loire Valley.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

I wonder what Fr. Neuhaus would have said in "First Things" about the following bit of news:

San Francisco Set to Tax Catholic Church Millions in Suspected Prop 8 Retaliation

By Kathleen Gilbert

SAN FRANCISCO, January 16, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A San Francisco assessor has called for the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco to hand over $15 million in taxes because of an internal restructuring of the archdiocese, a move that some are describing as "retaliation" for the Church's opposition to Proposition 8.

Assessor Phil Ting concluded that the Catholic Church owed the city taxes after the archdiocese was restructured and its property, which is almost all used by parish facilities, was consolidated seven months ago.

"Because we knew the accusations (of unfair treatment) could be out there, we worked to look at every single document so we could totally and completely understand their argument," Ting said. "We looked at all the various exemptions that could have been applied, and we felt that none of them were applicable in this case. That meant it was our determination that this was a taxable event."

Ting claimed that because the restructuring involved "separate legal entities," it was "not just a cosmetic" change and therefore liable to be taxed.

The archdiocese immediately filed legal action and questioned the precedent for Ting's decision.

"San Francisco Recorder Phil Ting has taken a step that is unprecedented in the history of the state of California. He has determined that an internal reorganization of church property, within the family of corporations of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, constitutes a 'sale' and is subject to a property transfer tax," archdiocese spokesman Maurice Healy told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"A tax on transfers of property, all owned by the Catholic Church, within the same family of Archdiocesan corporations, is unprecedented in the history of the state of California and the law is overwhelmingly in our favor on this subject," said Healy.

Many are decrying the move as retaliation for the church's support of California's same-sex "marriage" ban, as pro-homosexual “marriage” San Francisco residents and politicians have made no secret of their ire at the Catholic Church and other religious groups for supporting Proposition 8.

"This is fishy at the least and evil at the most," Randy Thomasson of California's Campaign for Children and Families told LifeSiteNews.com. "Phil Ting is doing to the Catholic Church what has not been done in other venues, taking away the Church's tax-exempt status in regards to property.”

Thomasson said that Ting, "who went head to head with the Catholic church over marriage between a man and a woman ... is aiming his rifles … right at the Catholic Church, and this is something that a higher court should be more just in its analysis."

The call to tax the Catholic and Mormon churches, which helped propel Prop 8 fundraising and campaigning, became a mantra of same-sex "marriage" supporters ever since the amendment passed in November.

During the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast last year, which was attended by Archbishop Niederauer, Mayor Gavin Newsom lambasted the Catholic Church and the archdiocese for their support for Proposition 8. The crowd reportedly responded with a standing ovation - minus the archbishop and a handful of other religious leaders.

Jack Smith of the Catholic Key blog suggested that Ting, who at a No on 8 rally declared he was "proud" to have signed several same-sex "marriage" certificates, had political motives for the aggressive move.

"Any clear-eyed observer might view this action by Ting, who's rumored to want the Mayor's chair after Newsom, as pandering to the anti-Catholic sentiment of voters in San Francisco," said Smith.

[Marion]

There is a limit to the usefulness of "blog" comments. T19 frequently suspends them. Increasingly, I see Fr. Harmon's wisdom.

[Ad Orientem]

Marion,
Indeed. Off topic comments and "spam" posts are really just inappropriate.

That said, I am not a coreligionist of Fr. Neuhaus but I respect his work. May his memory be eternal.

In ICXC
John

[bonobo]

I am not a coreligionist of Fr. Neuhaus but I respect his work. May his memory be eternal.

In ICXC

If you sign off with "ICXC" then you most certainly are a coreligionist of the great Fr. Neuhaus.

And this is not just in the light of Christy Moore's wise lyric: "When the elections are all over we'll be pushing up clover I tell ye everyone in the graveyard votes the same"...