me and have read it through. To read the com- plete text again so many years on was to see it with fresh eyes. For more than 20 years – even while he was still an Anglican – there had been those who regarded Newman as dishonest and he knew it, although the light of truth had always been his only beacon. That was what he had sought to follow, what- ever the cost. And he had suffered in silence the contempt and disdain of Protestant England and the suspicion and misunder- standing of many in the Catholic community. Charles Kingsley’s unforeseen throwaway line, “Truth, for its own sake, had never been a virtue with the Roman clergy. Father Newman informs us that it need not, and on the whole ought not to be,” gave him at last the opportunity to explain himself. People did not have to agree with him; but his devo- tion to the truth could be in doubt no longer. Humorous and honest, Newman was also
pragmatic. His pragmatism was not unprin- cipled. He was not pragmatic in that sense. But he responded to need. His instinct was pastoral. When created a cardinal in 1879, he spoke famously against liberalism in religion and conservative extremists have sometimes tried to enlist him as one of them. The truth is otherwise. Newman always championed dogma. As an Anglican, his defence of it had priority because both evangelical and Broad Church Anglicans had little time for it. He opposed them. But as a Catholic, he found dogma secure, while critical theology was threatened. And so he championed theology. He understood the bond between the two. That care for theology influenced his hand - ling of his dispute with Gladstone about papal infallibility. It was a success, but not everyone in Rome was pleased. They felt he had given too much away. His bishop, William Ullathorne, defended him. He explained to the Roman authorities that Newman argued ex abundantia concessionis. In other words, he felt no need to stand toe-to-toe, securing every last detail; he was prepared to concede lesser points to achieve his main objective.
humour, a passion for truth, a pastoral sen- sitivity to need and the ability to weigh arguments wisely would certainly be among them. In old age, Archbishop Ullathorne,
S
Newman’s defender in Rome, paid him a visit and something extraordinary took place. As the old bishop made his leave, the old cardinal begged a favour, sank to his knees and asked for a blessing. And Ullathorne, reluctant because of propriety, but deeply moved, blessed him. Later he observed, “I felt annihilated in his presence: there is a saint in that man!” The diffident Newman might not agree, but he can guide us still.
■Mgr Roderick Strange is rector of the Pontifical Beda College, Rome, and the author of John Henry Newman: a mind alive (Darton Longman and Todd, £30).
o what might be characteristic of British Catholicism? If Newman is to be our guide, although other attributes could be mentioned, self-deprecating
“God's love gives us the courage to continue seeking andworking forthebenefitofall.” Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate
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18 September 2010 | THE TABLET | 9
Ashort filmshowing howfaith and action can change theworld
The kingdomof heaven –togrowthe largestoftrees,
it just takes the smallest of seeds
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