Michael Novak, a Catholic philosopher, theologian and author who was highly regarded for his religious scholarship and intellectual independence, died Feb. 17 at home in Washington, D.C. He was 83.
His daughter Jana Novak told The Washington Post the cause of death was complications from colon cancer.
Read MoreJohnstown native Michael Novak, an influential Catholic philosopher and diplomat whose written works on religion’s role in capitalism helped mold the modern conservative movement, has died. He was 83.
The son of an insurance salesman and onetime Penelec stenographer, Novak was a seminary student and later a Stanford University professor who served as a vocal Catholic critic of the war in Vietnam.
Read MoreIn the late 1970s I underwent two conversions: the first was reading myself out of the left wing politics in which I had been active. The second, not unrelated, was to return to the practice of the Catholic faith.
I say these transformations were related because I found that the more I saw the basis of a free society was predicated on free human action in the economy, the more I found myself thinking about the nature of the human person, his transcendence, and his dignity, and hence my return to the faith of my youth.
Read MoreIn the late 1970s I underwent two conversions: the first was reading myself out of the left wing politics in which I had been active. The second, not unrelated, was to return to the practice of the Catholic faith.
I say these transformations were related because I found that the more I saw the basis of a free society was predicated on free human action in the economy, the more I found myself thinking about the nature of the human person, his transcendence, and his dignity, and hence my return to the faith of my youth.
Read MoreMichael's friends, among them many Slovaks who influence during his visits, his struggle with cancer for several months, watched with concern. In November, he was diagnosed with a tumor on colon. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy. But the disease has apparently spread further than it seemed at the beginning. Last week, his daughter Jana published on fejsbuk devastating news: "We hope that we can get him out of the hospital soon, so that we can start at home with hospice care during the last days." On Friday, finally, came the news of his departure. He died in peace, surrounded by family.
Who was Michael Novak? And why would it be to know Slovakia?
Read MoreI worked with Michael and saw him roughly once a month from 1994 to 1998 while I was on the editorial staff of Crisis Magazine - the publication he founded with Ralph McInerney. Those conversations were among the most intellectually invigorating but also the most personally demanding I've ever known - as he brought a near manic passion to his wrestling with ideas.
Read MoreHeritage Foundation President Jim DeMint released the following statement on the death of Michael Novak:
I fondly remember Michael Novak’s last public appearance at The Heritage Foundation in July of 2016. He had written the introduction to our Index of Culture and Opportunity, and I was honored to introduce and listen to him the day of its launch last summer. We were reminded once again that day why Michael has had such a powerful shaping influence as he taught the love of freedom and care for the principles that produced it.
Read MoreThe theologian, scholar, and writer Michael Novak died yesterday at the age of 83. Novak was one of the most influential Catholic thinkers of his generation, and an indefatigable champion of free enterprise, democracy, and liberty.
Here are five facts you should know about Novak:
Read MoreIt pains me very much when thinkers I admire hold a doctrine as toxic as it is admonitory. Patrick Deneen, for instance, holds that the United States of America is badly founded, because it springs from the philosophy of liberalism (as Europeans understand liberalism).
Read More(Washington, D.C.) Michael Novak, groundbreaking author, philosopher, theologian, and faculty member of Catholic University’s Tim and Steph Busch School of Business and Economics since last August, is remembered at the University as one of the country’s most influential thinkers and a mentor to business students and faculty, among many others.
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