I've recently dabbled in the life, times and thought of Cardinal John Henry Newman. For some time, I have felt a persistent curiosity about the man but never diligently committed myself to learning more about him. Why the Newman appeal? It's a timeless thing, really; the intimate story of one's spiritual struggle on the long road to conversion, the granitic reluctance to budge on matter once thought immutable and which finally, liberatingly, folds to grace and faith. This is a process, an experience, that is always intriguing and, well, so very human. Such is the case with Newman's life. How, for so long, he adhered faithfully to the Anglican proposition which viewed its communion as the felicitous via media bridging Protestantism and Catholicism and how he gradually came to see this an an untenable position.
Greatly admired by the Holy Father, Cardinal Newman is set to be beatified next spring in what is sure to be a momentous occasion for Catholics in England and, perhaps just as important, a much-needed time for soul-searching among the ranks of the increasingly fissure-ridden Anglican communion.
No comments:
Post a Comment