Monday, September 20, 2010

Newman, Benedict, and Great Britain

Lest the beatification of the now Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman be thought to have passed unnoticed by this spiritual son of the man, I offer these carefully selected links for your reading pleasure:[Hat tip to C.B.]

Update (9/21/2010):

For extensive coverage of the Pope's visit, see http://benedictintheuk.blogspot.com/

Also, as Christopher suggests, check out Benedict's visit to the lion's den of Westminster -- praising St. Thomas More in a speech to Parliament / The Anglican Church (!) and offering Blessed John Henry Newman as a model for ecumenical relations:
He can teach us the virtues that ecumenism demands: on the one hand, he was moved to follow his conscience, even at great personal cost; and on the other hand, the warmth of his continued friendship with his former colleagues, led him to explore with them, in a truly irenical spirit, the questions on which they differed, driven by a deep longing for unity in faith.
Of course he didn't mention "Anglicanorum Coetibus" specifically, but as Phil Lawler (Catholic Culture) thinks, it's hard not to interpret his elevation of Newman-the-Catholic as a model to the Anglican bishops as a covert invitation.

Amazing ...:

2 comments:

Christopher Blosser said...

And with Benedict's offering of Cardinal Newman as a model for ecumenical actions; announcing his feast day as Oct. 9 -- not the date of his death, which is typical for feast days, but the date of Cardinal Newman's passage from Anglicanism into the Catholic Church (Catholic News Service) and his parting request to his fellow bishops to "be generous in implementing the apostolic constitution 'Anglicanorum Coetibus'" -- you think the Holy Father was trying to make a point? ;-)

anon said...

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