This article was updated Dec. 4.
WASHINGTON — When he was running for re-election in 1992,
President George H.W. Bush told Catholic News Service that he believed that a
strong religious faith could provide "an extra shot of strength when you
need it."
"I don't believe you can be president without having faith.
I really strongly feel that,'' Bush said in a telephone interview that October
as he flew en route from a campaign appearance in Kentucky to scheduled stops
in Florida.
That religious faith that sustained him and his family and clearly
was evident during his years in the White House — and more recently as he mourned
the April 17 death of his beloved wife of 73 years, Barbara — is being noted by
many in paying tribute to his life and legacy after his death late Nov. 30 at
age 94 at his home in Houston.
His spokesman, Jim McGrath, confirmed the death of the former
president in a tweet. The cause of his death was not immediately available, but
he had been in failing health the last few years. In 2012, he announced that he
had vascular Parkinsonism, a condition that limited his mobility and required
him to use a wheelchair most of the time.
"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that
after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died," said former President
George W. Bush, the late president's oldest son. "George H.W. Bush was a
man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.
The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the
compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences
of our friends and fellow citizens."
The White House announced Dec. 1 that a state funeral was being
arranged "with all of the accompanying support and honors." President
Donald Trump designated Dec. 5 as a national day of mourning. He and first lady
Melania Trump planned to attend the funeral at the National Episcopal Cathedral
in Washington. The flags at the White House were lowered to half staff.
Air Force One, technically called "Special Air Mission
41," flew to Houston to bring the body of the late president back to
Washington. After arrival at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington Dec. 3,
his body was transported to the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to lie in state through
the early morning of Dec. 5. The public was invited to pay respects. The
funeral service was planned for 11 a.m. at the cathedral.
The final "Special Air Mission 41" flight was to return
the president's body to Texas late Dec. 5 for funeral services the next day in
College Station, Texas. He will be laid to rest the afternoon of Dec. 6 at the
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, where wife Barbara and their daughter
Robin, who died at age 3, are buried.
Catholic leaders, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, joined in "grieving the loss of one of our nation's
leaders."
"We remember with gratitude this great man who spent his
life selflessly in service of his country," the president of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops said Dec. 3. "With an unwavering commitment
to building bridges of peace and ensuring our nation's freedoms, he also
inspired many as a devoted husband, father and family patriarch."
"On behalf of my brother bishops of the United States, we
pray for the repose of the soul of our 41st president as we remember a life
well lived," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, who heads the Archdiocese of
Galveston-Houston. "We also offer our deepest sympathy and prayers for his
bereaved family and all those who mourn his passing. May you find peace and
comfort in the consoling love of Jesus Christ."
"Notre Dame joins with our nation and world in mourning the
passing of President Bush," said Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins,
president of the Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana. "He was the
epitome of a public servant, not just in the Oval Office, but in his eight
years as vice president, his many years as a congressman, ambassador and CIA
director, and in his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II."
"We were fortunate to host him at Notre Dame on five occasions,
and in each instance, the honor was ours," said Father Jenkins said in a
Dec. 1 statement. "Our prayers are with the Bush family.”
Bush received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Notre Dame
in 1992; he had visited the campus more than any other U.S. president.
Holy Cross Father Edward A. Malloy was Notre Dame's president
from 1987 to 2005 and presented the honorary degree to Bush during commencement
ceremonies that year. He also worked on two of the president's major
initiatives — his Drug Advisory Council and his Points of Light Foundation.
"I found him to be a leader deeply committed to the country
he had been elected to serve, a gracious host and a down-to-earth person,"
Father Malloy said in a statement. "He recognized the importance of
American higher education and he sought to enhance it. He also sought to
promote a culture of citizen engagement with the great issues of the day."
The National Right to Life Committee, a federation of state
right-to-life affiliates and more than 3,000 local chapters, also mourned
Bush's death and praised him for a number of pro-life measures he supported as
president.
It cited among other actions his administration urging the
Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to pass laws to protect
unborn children. He used "the power of his veto to stop 10 bills that
contained pro-abortion provisions, including four appropriations bills which
allowed for taxpayer funding of abortion," NRLC said in a statement.
"President George H.W. Bush dedicated his administration to
advancing pro-life policies to protect mothers and their unborn children,"
said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. "He used his
presidency to stop enactment of pro-abortion laws and promote life-affirming
solutions. Our prayers today are with former President George W. Bush and the
entire Bush family."
While in office, Bush stated that the "protection of
innocent human life — in or out of the womb — is certainly the most compelling
interest that a state can advance," she added.
With regard to capital punishment, Bush differed with the
Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty, telling CNS that he
supported it "in certain instances because I think if somebody murders a
police officer that that person ought to pay with his life.''
Bush was criticized by Catholic and other faith leaders as well
as peace activists for his decision to go to war in the Persian Gulf after
then-Iraq President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
Some months before the U.S.-led war began Aug. 2, 1990, St. John
Paul II pleaded for peace in the Gulf. "May leaders be convinced that war
is an adventure with no return,'' he said. "By reasoning, patience and
dialogue with respect to the inalienable rights of peoples and nations, it is
possible to identify and travel the paths of understanding and peace."
Attending the funeral of the pope in 2005, then-former President
Bush recalled for reporters how the pontiff had opposed the war, which ended
Feb. 28, 1991, citing what he called the pope's "standard position on the
use of force" and his concerns about "the long length of the
war." One news account said Bush "lamented the fact that he (himself)
never engaged in a discussion about the concept of a 'just war.'"
During his pontificate, St. John Paul met with Bush twice at the
Vatican, first when Bush was vice president and then when he was president.
"I had the opportunity to express my profound gratitude to
the Holy Father for his spiritual and moral leadership,'' Bush said in a
statement after the two leaders met privately for more than an hour Nov. 8,
1991.
"His message for peace and the message that he sends across
the world to all these countries'' experiencing war and other hardships
"is a message of hope and, indeed, a message of peace,'' the president
said.
Born in Milton, Mass., June 12, 1924, Bush delayed entrance to
Yale University to volunteer for service in World War II. At 18. he was one of
the Navy's youngest pilots. After several flying successful bombing missions,
he was shot down during one in 1944 and was rescued at sea. The rest of his
flight crew perished.
After graduating from Yale, he became an oilman in Texas, but
after his successful stint in the oil fields, he spent most of the rest of his
life in public service — including as a two-term congressman from Texas,
director of the Central Intelligence Agency, an ambassador, vice president
under President Ronald Reagan (1980-1988) and finally president (1988-1992).
He and Barbara married Jan. 6, 1945. As a young couple they
suffered through the death from leukemia of daughter Robin at age 3. Throughout
their lives they and their whole family mourned her loss. Bush is survived by
son George W., the nation's 43rd president, and four other children; 17 grandchildren
and eight great-grandchildren; and two siblings.
"We are guided by faith," Bush said of his wife and
family in that 1992 interview. "We (are) regular attendees at church and
that gives us strength every Sunday. And we just feel that it's important as a
family to pray together. We still say our blessings at our meals and we still
say our prayers at night.''
Carol Zimmermann contributed to this story.