Posted on 01/30/2010 10:41:25 AM PST by NYer
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, JAN. 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Prominent Catholic author, professor and cultural commentator Ralph McInerny died today at the age of 80.
"I have no voice or words to speak our loss. Not yet. Not today," Joseph Bottom of First Things wrote today on the magazine's Web site.
Ralph McInerny was a professor of philosophy and the Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
He held degrees from St. Paul Seminary, University of Minnesota and Laval University, and had taught at the University of Notre Dame since 1955. He directed the Jacques Maritain Center from 1979 to 2006.
He was an acknowledged expert on the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, and a prolific author. He penned over two dozen scholarly books, many more scholarly essays, and over 80 novels.
He wrote the popular book series Father Dowling Mysteries, which became a successful television program starring Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson.
Other books include "The Question of Christian Ethics," "Aquinas on Human Action," "The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain," and "Thomism in an Age of Renewal."
In 1982, he co-founded Crisis Magazine with Michael Novak. The publication is now known as InsideCatholic.
In 2006, he published his autobiography titled "I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You: My Life and Pastimes."
Details of the funeral service have not been released, but is expected to take place Monday, sources told ZENIT.
May he rest in peace.
He was a good man. God be with him.
Was one of the few remaining outstanding Catholic scholars. Great loss.
Requiescat in Pace.
I just saw this over on the First Things site. I love his novels.
RIP.
Well done, good and faithful servant. May God give him rest.
One of the great Catholic writers and thinkers of the 20th century.
May he rest in peace.
Underappreciated because he swam against the modernist current.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord,
And let perpetual Light shine upon them.
May their souls
And the souls of all the faithful departed
Through the mercy of God
Rest in peace.
Amen.
God, accept the soul of your servant Ralph in Thy embrace.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, amen.
I guess I haven’t read any of his novels. What were your favorites?
He has a mystery series set at Notre Dame University, starring a professor named Roger Knight. These are very entertaining and full of detail about modern university life. He also wrote the “Father Dowling” series.
One of the joys of his books is that he knew how to write correct English. (I was observing the same thing about another mystery writer, Lawrence Block, just recently.) One gets so used to tolerating Homophone Howlers, dangling modifiers, and pronouns flapping in the breeze that it’s a great relief to find writing done right! Mr. Block is about 70, so perhaps it’s a characteristic of their generation.
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
Anima eius, et animæ omnium fidelium defunctorum, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen.
Saw him yesterday with Colleen Carroll Campbell on an EWTN FAITH AND CULTURE replayed episode. Had no idea that he’d passed away.
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