Newsflash
> A Miracle for Newman?
A Miracle for Newman?
Will the great English convert and apologist be beatified
in the near future by Benedict XVI?
- by Dr. Robert Moynihan
VATICAN CITY, Tuesday, October 18, 2005 -- "Blessed
John Henry Newman"? "St. John Henry Newman"?
The cause of canonization of the great English
convert and apologist John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890)
has been underway for sometime, and many who love his clear
and profound writings and have a devotion to him for his courage
and holiness are wondering whether he will soon be declared
Blessed and then canonized as a saint.
What has been missing is a miracle perfomed through his intercession.
He was declared "Venerable" because of his heroic
virtues on January 22, 1991. But, beatification processes
require the "divine witness" of a miracle before
they can go forward.
On Monday evening, October 17 in Rome, the postulator for
the Cause for the beatification of Cardinal Newman, Father
Paul Chavasse, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory in England,
revealed that a possible miracle has now been documented.
It occurred in 2002 in Boston, Massachusetts, he said. A
deacon with a degenerative spinal condition was healed after
praying for Cardinal Newman's intercession. The name of the
deacon was not made public.
"Much work has been done and much remains to be done,"
Chavasse said. "The Boston diocesan tribunal to investigate
the cure will not finish its work until the beginning of February
next; the last session is scheduled for February 6 and 7,
2006."
Peter Jennings, an English scholar and journalist who is
press secretary to the Catholic archbishop of Birmingham,
Vincent Nichols, and who recently edited a book on Newman,
told Inside the Vatican: "I think it is spiritually significant
that this miracle occurred preciely in the place where and
at the time when the pedophilia scandals first became public.
I think it may be interpreted as Newman's way of trying to
remind us that those in positions of ministry in the Church
need God's grace and healing. I am hopeful this miracle will
be recognized by the Holy See, and that the way will be opened
to beatify Newman during this pontificate."
Chavasse and Jennings made their remarks at a book presentation
at the English College in Rome on the via del Montserrato.
A brief review of the book they presented follows.
*****
BENEDICT XVI AND CARDINAL NEWMAN
reviewed by Andrew Rabel
Readers interested in the life of the great English convert
and apologist, Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890)
will find a welcome addition to the many works and written
about him.
Entitled "Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman" (2005)
the book is a collection of thoughtful and authoritative essays
looking at different elements of Cardinal Newman's life edited
by the English religious commentator, Peter Jennings. The
collection has been prepared in connection with the election
of the new Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, a great devotee of Newman.
Jennings is the press secretary of Archbishop Vincent Nichols,
the archbishop of Birmingham, where Newman established a foundation
of the Oratorian Fathers. Nichols contributes one of the chapters
to the book.
The hardbound book contains the most stunning photographs
of Newman and those who are paying tribute to him that it
would be a precious gift to anyone who admired his writings,
and contains one previously unpublished picture of Newman.
Pope Benedict XVI's interest in and veneration for Cardinal
Newman is public knowledge. "Cardinal Ratzinger described
Newman as 'the great English Cardinal, John Henry Newman'
at a 1990 symposium on Newman in Rome attended by John Paul
II," Jennings says in his introduction. "He [Ratzinger]
also mentioned how, as a seminarian, he was first introduced
to the writings of Newman at the age of 18."
The book divided into several parts, contains massive amounts
of information about Newman, both from Anglicans, like Dr
Robert Runcie, and from Catholics, many of whom have all been
particpants at various Newman Symposia, a testament to how
his writings and ideas are appreciated up to the present day.
Interesting information is also provided on the history of
Newman's cause for sainthood, which virtually every Pope has
been interested in since Leo XIII. This culminated in the
Anglican convert's decree from Rome regarding his heroic virtues
in 1990 published in full here.
Looking at the different locations Newman made famous, the
book concludes with its penultimate section, containing the
initial addresses of Pope Benedict XVI after his election.
A considerable effort put into narrating the life of a man
whose ideas are still responsible for bringing people into
the Catholic Church. The book is sure to become a Newman collector's
item with its rich production and vibrant illustrations. A
good Christmas gift.
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