There’s no denying the truth
What a contrast! Pope John Paul II had hardly been declared dead when the Romans, and many others in the Church, began to press for his immediate canonisation.
Cardinal John Henry Newman died unpretentiously in 1890 surrounded by more of a British appreciation of his achievements than by a large-scale ecclesiastical reaction. After 120 years, he has plodded his way to being declared a blessed one, a potential saint of the universal Church.
The beatification ceremony proved to be a successful occasion, with British and global recognition that the newly beatified had lived a life of heroic virtue and of intellectual acumen and, almost by stealth, had gained admittance to a reluctant Catholic theological ethos. Moreover, the positive British reception of His Holiness four-day visit to the United Kingdom in order to beatify Newman, took many by pleasant surprise, including the pope.
During the past couple of months, this newspaper has published a number of informative articles on the life and achievements of Cardinal Newman, not least the excellent series by Fr Michael Austin SJ. It is not necessary for us now to delve again into Newman’ s pilgrimage from Anglicanism to Catholicism, from his restless enduring of doubt to his certainty of the right path to the truth, and the hard times that followed. Nor is it required to advance theological or moral ideas for our readers to grasp that John Paul and Newman are no more than reflections or examples of Christian life.
Finding the truth is the quest of every human being. This truth is discovered not only in the laws of nature and by scientific research but, importantly, in the revealed Word of God received in faith. Pope John Paul and Cardinal Newman lived and strived to know this revealed truth with deeper understanding. Their words and deeds reflect this at every level.
In considering the striking difference between the high-profile attraction of John Paul at his sparkling best with the low-key reticence of Newman, we may appreciate anew that each one of us, however far we are along the road to greater sanctity, has a place in the unfolding divine plan for the Church, the world and the coming of the Kingdom. No matter the individual temperaments we have, making us introspective, outgoing or even odd, all we need is an unswerving focus on the truths revealed by Christ to his Church and a desire to know and understand them rather than to dismiss them as irrelevant today.
Another lesson these two pursuers of the truth can teach, is that the Church has been rather slow in demonstrating the fact that Christians of all persuasions are bound together in Christ by virtue of their baptism. We are all one in Christ although visibly divided in our confessions of faith.
John Henry Newman embraced a life of prayer and service as a member of the Church of England. This church nurtured him towards the truth, in faith, hope and love, so that his conversion to Catholicism, aside from its emotional distress, was spiritually and intellectually fulfilling. Evidently, the Holy Spirit is active beyond the visible unity of the Catholic Church.
Last week Benedict XVI and Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, met in a string of events that highlighted the strained relations between the Protestant establishment and the Catholic Church over the last 450 years. They embraced with affection and demonstrated awareness of their duty to advance the unity of the baptised sooner rather than later.
This duty belongs to every baptised person so that we may fully share in the Truth, which is Christ.
- The Look of Christ - May 24, 2022
- Putting Down a Sleeping Toddler at Communion? - March 30, 2022
- To See Our Good News - March 23, 2022