Farewell to a ‘Christian exile’
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- January
- 13
A funeral Mass for Father Richard John Neuhaus—the Lutheran-turned-Catholic scholar and writer of great influence—is being celebrated this morning at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in NYC.
There have been so many tributes made to Neuhaus since his death on Thursday that I can only hope that the homilist can come up with something fresh.
I just wanted to note that Neuhaus did write a final book that will be published in March. It’s called American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile. Here is a description from the online archive of Neuhaus’ work:
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Christians are by their nature a people out of place. Their true home is with God; in civic life, they are alien citizens “in but not of the world.” In American Babylon, eminent theologian Richard John Neuhaus examines the particular truth of that ambiguity for Catholics in America today. Neuhaus addresses the essential quandaries of Catholic life—assessing how Catholics can keep their heads above water in the sea of immorality that confronts them in the world, how they can be patriotic even though their true country is not in this world, and how they might reconcile their duties as citizens with their commitment to God. Deeply learned, frequently combative, and always eloquent, American Babylon is Neuhaus’s magnum opus—and will be essential reading for all Christians.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 10:16 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
