John Henry Newman

by Michael Shackleton · August 13, 2008

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: A Mind Alive, by Roderick Strange. Dartman, Longman and Todd, London. 2008. 158pp.

Reviewed by Michael Shackleton

Coincidentally, having completed my attempt to digest the substance of Pope Benedict’s recent encyclical Spe Salvi, I began to read Roderick Strange�s analysis of the enigmatic yet influential mind of Cardinal John Henry Newman. The author was not aware of this encyclical at the time of writing but his treatment of Newman�s Dream of Gerontius directly made me see a connection between the two.

Referring to the purifying of the soul as it languishes in purgatory�s �fire�, the pope says that some recent theologians believe that the fire that burns and saves us is Christ himself. This is the decisive act of judgment so that the encounter with Christ burns, transforms and frees us to allow us to become truly ourselves. Could the pope�s �recent theologians� include Newman?

About 120 years ago, the departed soul of Newman�s Gerontius is �scorched and shrivell�d� by the holiness of the Crucified, �consum�d yet quickened by the glance of God�, so that its judgment is self-judgment.

This snippet serves to illustrate what Strange is driving at in this book: that Newman�s was a mind ahead of his time, and his spirit brooded over the bishops� deliberations during Vatican II and since.

Newman�s opinions about the importance of the laity in the Church, the role of infallibility and ecumenism, Mary�s unique privileges, the development of faith and doctrine, were all unappreciated in his day, but were to feature to a greater or lesser extent in the Council�s documents.

Formerly the Catholic chaplain at Oxford University, Roderick Strange is now the rector of the Pontifical Beda College in Rome. At the age of 18, he developed a strong admiration for Newman and his writings. His familiarity with the mound of the great man�s sermons, books and correspondence is evidence of this, and one feels that he is confident about his assessments.

A short overview of Newman�s early days, his conversion to Catholicism and the harrowing time he underwent afterwards, is concisely and agreeably presented amid many instructive digressions. This is simply a very good book.