Not much has been written about the big event that followed by several days the death of Tim Russert: the lecture for the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, which the NBC News star was scheduled to give. His last-minute replacement was another NBC News star, and Catholic — a graduate of Catholic University, in fact — Brian Williams.

But now there’s an account that’s been published online, and it helps to put Russert’s life and work (and faith) in context:

Williams said that the key question for the night could be stated this way: Was Russert’s relentless search for the truth a result of his Catholic upbringing?

In a moment that could have produced an entire forum, event or book, Williams briefly discussed Russert’s internal struggle during the waves of clergy sex-abuse scandals that rocked his church. Trying to handle that horrific reality — as a Catholic parent and as a journalist — was a test of Russert’s faith. But, Williams said, he also knew that he needed to do the “job of a journalist.”

Russert always “understood that the stakes were high. He knew that better than most of us,” added Williams. “He knew that the civility of our dialogue was under attack. He knew that diversity in the public square takes work every day. And he knew that our standards of journalism were being attacked.

“He understood what it meant to be ‘called’ to be Catholic, and I think that’s very important. He took the call.”

Visit GetReligion.org for that and much more. Great stuff.