By ANGELA MARSHALL
More than 1,000 mourners, some who knew him and others who wished they had, filled the pews and aisles of the cathedral to remember the man who had fought for life, his and those of the unborn.
Bishop McHugh was known for his tough stance on abortion, and this was remembered often during the ceremony. "When sufficient perspective allows an objective appraisal of these past 30 years or so, I am certain that no other bishop in the United States will emerge more important than he in having forged the Church's efforts in support of life and family," Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston said in his homily.
The Bishop had lived under the motto "What shall I give to the Lord." Recalling Bishop McHugh's struggle to be active in the diocese while enduring months of suffering, Archbishop Edward Egan of New York said, "Bishop McHugh, in my estimation, gave it all."
A longtime friend, Archbishop Egan was the principal celebrant of the funeral mass.
Bishop McHugh was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Dec. 7, 1998, and succeeded Bishop John R. McGann as the third bishop of the diocese in January this year. He died of liver and gall-bladder cancer on Dec. 10.
In addition to hundreds of Catholic leaders, Bishop McHugh's funeral was attended by many interfaith representatives including Rabbi Barry Dov Schwartz of Rockville Centre's Temple B'nai Sholom.
