The final request of Britain's most famous Roman Catholic convert, Cardinal Newman, is to be overriden as the Vatican prepares to make him a saint.That's a most unfair reading...
It was Cardinal Newman's dying wish that he be buried with his closest friend in the grounds of the house they had shared as priests.
But now, nearly 120 years after his death, Britain's most famous convert to Roman Catholicism is to be reinterred in a sarcophagus in preparation for his becoming a saint, leaving the remains of his friend behind.
The decision to separate the remains of John Henry Newman and Ambrose St John has upset figures in the Church and led some to question whether it is embarrassed about their relationship.
[snip]
Martin Prendergast, a homosexual campaigner in the Catholic Church, claimed the Cardinal's relationship had caused misgivings in the Vatican and slowed his path to beatification. "I don't think they can just pretend the relationship didn't exist," he said.
"We shouldn't be afraid of acknowledging that he had his trials and torments yet was able to deal with these in a positive manner, without compromising his commitment to celibacy."
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Annoying Take on Newman Beatification Moves...
It;s disappointing that the Telegraph has put the following spin on Newman's proposed exhumation.
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Father John Corapi once noted that he couldn't be seen alone with a man because it would be assumed he was gay; he couldn't be seen alone with a woman because people would say they were having an affair; he couldn't be seen alone with a child because people would say he was a child molester. You'd like to think people had moved beyond that, but when there's a potential political point to be won nothing seems to be off limits. Sad...
Cardinal Newman requested in his will that he be buried with Ambrose St John. I feel that his will should be honoured. I predicted years ago that this would be a problem when/if he was to be beatified.
That's not unfair, it's appalling and disgusting. Full stop.
His will was honored. But now circumstances have changed.
I'm a medievalist, though - I believe in partible burial. Leave his heart with Ambrose St. John.
What no one seems to be aware of is that Newman asked to be buried with Ambrose (whose body lies between Fr Edward Caswall and Fr Joseph Gordon) not because of any inappropriate relationship with Ambrose, but because those 4 were together when the Birmingham Oratory was set up. Newman wished them all to lie together for eternity in a cross-like configuration. The practical way to do this was to bury him in the central grave - the grave in which Ambrose was buried.
It's a scandal that the homosexualists in the UK want to read something else into this. Pendergast is hardly a spokesman for the Church, despite his friendship with some bishops, so his views don't really matter.
A gay friend sent me the story and cited Oscar Wilde as well. He was not mean spirited about it, but his intent was clear - to use this story as a way to challenge and chip at my support for Church teachings on this issue.
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