Richard John Neuhaus, Leading Catholic Thinker, Dies

New York Catholic priest, Richard John Neuhaus, died yesterday at the age of 72. The National Catholic Reporter says that Neuhaus was known as an intellectual spokesman for the "religious right." Originally ordained as a Lutheran minister, Neuhaus converted to Catholicism in 1990. According to NCR:

From the early 1970s forward, Neuhaus was a key architect of two alliances with profound consequences for American politics, both of which overcame histories of mutual antagonism: one between conservative Catholics and Protestant Evangelicals, and the other between free market neo-conservatives and “faith and values” social conservatives.

Among the books written by Fr. Neuhaus were The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1997); Appointment in Rome: The Church in America Awakening (1998); and Doing Well & Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist (1992).