National Catholic Register reports on the life, influence, and death of Monsignor William Smith:
YONKERS, N.Y. — With a calm, disarming wit that always drove home the point, Msgr. William Smith opened many a public lecture by observing that it was evident his listeners had survived the abortion battle. “But don’t take solace,” he would add, “we are all candidates for euthanasia.”
A teacher of moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary (known locally as Dunwoodie, for the section of Yonkers it is in) in the Archdiocese of New York for more than 30 years, and a guiding light of the pro-life movement, Msgr. Smith died on Jan. 24 at the age of 69, from complications stemming from double pneumonia, after a short hospital stay.
With the passing of Cardinal Avery Dulles on Dec. 12 and Father Richard John Neuhaus on Jan. 8, Msgr. Smith’s death marked the passing of the third internationally renowned New York priest in a little more than a month.
Ordained in 1966 at the beginning of an era of theological dissent following the Second Vatican Council, Msgr. Smith became a nationally known figure of fidelity to the Church’s magisterium, particularly on the issues of contraception, abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research and an array of other ethical challenges brought on by biomedical science.
He hosted a number of shows on the Eternal Word Television Network, including “Catholic Morality and the Catechism”; addressed moral and canonical issues for Homiletic and Pastoral Review; engaged in dialogues with New York politicians, including Gov. Mario Cuomo who voiced a “personally opposed but …” stance on abortion; debated dissenters on television; was a founding member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars for those faithful to Church teaching; and served as a popular speaker for conferences and retreats throughout the United States.
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