When he died, a friend of mine captured his enduring and dangerous legacy:

His distinction between moral opposition to abortion and legal support of it was political sophistry at its worst and had major consequences. It charted the path for others to follow. Soon many politicians, especially pro-life Catholic Democrats, would adopt a “personally opposed, publicly in favor” stance with regard to abortion. How could any layman be faulted for publicly supporting abortion if the most prominent Catholic priest in public life did the same? More than any other figure, he was responsible for leading so many Catholic politicians astray; many of them cited his votes in favor of abortion as influencing their own. More than any other figure, he, a priest, changed the Democratic party into the party of abortion. Had he publicly and politically used his moral authority and great personal skills to argue in favor of life, the political landscape today would be much different and perhaps millions of unborn lives could have been saved.