From the USCCB communication office:

“Russert was valued by Americans for his tremendous command of the political and electoral process and his commitment to discovering each aspect of the story that contributed to people having a better awareness of the issues of public life and candidates for political office,” he said.

“But those of us who shared his Catholic faith and his deep love for it appreciated his sharing of the story of his own faith and his loyalty to the life of the Catholic Church in this country and the many charities to which he contributed his time and talent,” he said.

Archbishop Niederauer also praised NBC News for asking Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, to come to their studio for their staff, hours after Russert’s death.

Regrettably, I have heard that Mr. Russert held pro-abortion beliefs which would fly in the face of his allegedly Catholic faith.  Hopefully we’ll get some clarity on that in the near future.  I enjoyed watching him on TV…he seemed a little more real, a little more honest, than the average reporter.  It’s sad that the face of NBC during the extremely long coverage of his death was than nutjob Olbermann.