John Henry Newman to become Saint
Posted on 21. Feb, 2019, in Christian Values, Community, SaintsComments Off on John Henry Newman to become Saint
The canonisation of Blessed John Henry Newman has been given the green light by Pope Francis, who on 12 February signed off on a second miracle attributed to the great English Catholic convert and scholar. Newman was declared Blessed by Pope Benedict at an open-air Mass in Birmingham during his 2010 papal visit to Britain. He may be canonised as soon as this coming autumn.
Famous for the quote, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often”, Newman himself lived this in a life of extraordinary personal faith development where he converted from evangelicalism to high Anglicanism and eventually to Roman Catholicism.
What makes this canonisation particularly poignant, Roantree argues, is that both conservative and progressive voices in the current Church invoke Newman’s theory of development, but in two very different ways. According to Roantree, Newman’s understanding of the theme is much more complex and nuanced than the conservative critics of Pope Francis seem to hold.
Roantree explains to Pat Coyle that he is a suitable candidate for sainthood on account of his deep spirituality and his attentiveness to the voice of God.