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The Cause for Cardinal Newman

In an exclusive interview, the former director of the cause discusses the growing international influence of the great English convert, prelate and theologian.

By Peter Jennings

1- Previously unpublished photos of Ven. John Henry Newman, taken in 1888.

2- Cardinal Newman in his Oratorian habit in 1864.

3- Pencil drawing of Cardinal Newman at the Oratory House in Rednal, near Birmingham, in 1881.

4- San Georgio in Velabro, Newman's titular church in Rome, from a painting now in his room at the Birmingham Oratory, by Emmeline Deane

5- Newman's grave at the Oratory House, Rednal.

6- Cardinal Basil Hume with (left) Father Gregory Winterton of the Birmingham Oratory and Father Vincent Biehl, SJ, postulator of the Newman case, meet in Newman's room at the Birmingham Oratory.

7- Cardinal Edward Cassiey, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, at Newman's desk in the Birmingham Oratory.

Associations of "Friends of Cardinal Newman" have been formed in Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Argentina.

"Only the case of Mother Drexel's holiness went through more quickly than Newman's."

At the moment, the progress of Cardinal Newman's cause lacks one vital ingredient: a miracle that can be attributed to his intercession.

"The influence of our Founder, the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), is now worldwide," emphasized Father Gregory Winterton, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory from 1971 to 1992.

He continued: "The 150th anniversary of the founding of the English Oratories comes in February 1998, and it will be the next obvious opportunity for us to ensure that the work towards Newman's beatification and canonization, which has been quietly in process since it regained momentum in the mid-1970s, receives the spotlight of public attention it so richly deserves.

"There are hopes that Cardinal Newman's beatification may coincide with the millennium, two years later--but even if it does not, this again will provide the chance to present him to the world in furtherance of what Pope Paul VI described as "a most important cause."

Sitting in his study-bedroom at the Birmingham Oratory in Edgbaston, Father Gregory, now 74, told Catholic World Report: "Moreover, the year 2001 then brings the 200th anniversary of Newman's birth. Protagonists of the cause--already vastly encouraged by a worldwide upsurge of interest in this extraordinary man and his teachings--are therefore looking forward to a cluster of dates of considerable significance to their aspirations."

Influence that spans the globe

Visitors from well over 100 countries have visited the Birmingham Oratory to see the room where Newman wrote many of his letters and sermons and where he died at 8:45 pm on Monday, August 11, 1890. But these visitors represent only a tiny proportion of the people whose lives Cardinal Newman has touched. "They are the tip of the iceberg of interest which finds his spiritual influence at work in North and South America, Europe, Australia and the Far East," Father Gregory explained. "Associations of "Friends of Cardinal Newman" have been formed in Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Argentina.

Father Gregory emphasized that Newman's influence is now universal. He said: "At the moment, I am struck by the influence he is having on certain people in Argentina, one of whom has found that her whole life has been changed by him and that his writings open up a view of the faith and of Our Lord which she never had before. She is busy translating his sermons and getting them published little by little."

He also cited an African Catholic from Cameroon who studied at University College, Dublin, and became "completely hooked on Newman." He returned to Cameroon and became a cabinet minister, but later resumed his links with academe as Rector of the University of Yaounda and briefly produced a magazine in praise of Newman.

Father Gregory continued: "Scholars such as he have had a major influence in spreading interest in Newman. Initially, their concern was largely with his thought, but it has now widened to take in his life, his holiness, his spirituality, and his theology. There is major interest in the United States. Among the many universities housing supporters are Fordham University in New York, the Catholic University in Washington, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. They now stand alongside such beacons of Newman activity as the English and Italian Oratories and the International Center of the Work in Rome, Jerusalem, Bregenz, Littlemore, Oxford, and elsewhere, with several priests producing important theses."

The history of the cause

"It was Msgr. Francis Davis--an international scholar who taught generations of students at Oscott College, the Birmingham diocesan seminary, and filled them with an awareness of Newman--who had a key role in the introduction of the Newman Cause. He wrote to all the world's English-speaking bishops in 1941 and found most of them in favor of furthering it."

Father Gregory continued: "It was he who inspired interest among the Oratory Fathers, influenced Bishop Joseph Cleary (secretary to four archbishops of Birmingham and later auxiliary bishop of Birmingham himself), and in 1958 persuaded the late Archbishop Francis Grimshaw of Birmingham to become involved. It was the archbishop who introduced the cause at a special Mass at the Birmingham Oratory in 1958."

Father Winterton was himself the inspiration and instigator of the cause's revitalization. This gentle priest, who recently gave Americans an update on the position of the cause when he attended the National Newman Conference in Indiana, draws encouragement from the signs of interest he observes, both among scholars and "ordinary" people.

Father Gregory paid warm tribute to the tireless work of Father Vincent Blehl, SJ, of Fordham University, the postulator of the Newman Cause. He said: "It is Father Blehl's quiet work over the years which has brought the Newman Cause to its present position. He was responsible for the successful assembly of evidence by the Historical Commission between 1980 and 1986, the rapid production of the Positio (the case for Newman's holiness of life and labors and for the heroic nature of his virtues) in the following five years and the subsequent declaration that Newman had indeed lived a life of 'heroic virtue.' Only the case of Mother Drexel's holiness went through more quickly than Newman's."

Father Blehl has written the first comprehensive study of Newman's spirituality in his White Stone: The Spiritual Theology of John Henry Newman. It has prompted many people to read or reread Newman's sermons, which are now recognized as spiritual classics. Father Blehl is currently working in Freiburg with Gunter Biemer to promote Newman research and the cause in Germany.

Father Gregory added: "Father Ian Ker's biography, lectures, and other writings are seen as key weapons for the cause, as is the work of priests of the Oratoire de France and of others in Spain and Japan. Women scholars giving their services to the cause include Hilda Graef, Joyce Sugg, Meriol Trevor, and Katherine Tillman; and Newman's Oratory School now at Woodcote, near Reading, has given unfailing support to the cause. Several cardinals and bishops have studied Newman for their doctoral theses, among them Cardinal Johannes Willebrands and the late Cardinal John Wright. Msgr. Anthony Stark, Master of the Guild of Ransom, Chairman of the Association of the Friends of Newman, which is based at the Birmingham Oratory, and former Birmingham diocesan postulator of the cause, takes Newman as his text in his travels around the parishes of England."

Msgr. Stark reminded Catholic World Report that the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom was founded in 1887 by Philip Fletcher, an Oxford Anglican convert, who always claimed that he owed his own conversion to Newman. On founding the Guild, Father Fletcher wrote to Cardinal Newman, asking his blessing. The cardinal gladly gave it, asking at the same time to be admitted as a member "if Father Fletcher judged him worthy." So Newman became the second priest-Ransomer, after Father Fletcher himself.

Msgr. Stark added: "The Guild makes an Annual Novena for the principal intention of the conversion of England and Wales; but one of the other intentions is that the beatification of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman will soon be accomplished."

Among prominent people and converts influenced by Newman have been Father Graham Leonard, the former Anglican Bishop of London; Durham University lecturer and Newman scholar Sheridan Gilley; and Abbot Patrick Barry of Ampleforth.

Needed: a miracle

At the moment, the progress of Cardinal Newman's cause lacks one vital ingredient: a miracle that can be attributed to his intercession. The Church must accept the validity of a miracle before beatification. "It is unlikely that Pope John Paul II, a great supporter of Newman, or indeed any future pope, will decide that the need for a physical miracle--arising out of prayers for Newman to intercede where healing is sought--will be dispensed with," Father Gregory observes. "Indeed, Pope John Paul has already refused such a request," he adds. And it is even more unlikely that the requirement of a miracle would be dropped in the case of Cardinal Newman, who devoted considerable intellectual energy to the reality of physical miracles. As Father Gregory points out, "among Newman's works are one book supporting the miracles recorded in scripture and another on those recorded in history."

Under ordinary circumstances, the miracles used by the Church to advance the cause of a candidate for beatification or canonization must be physical cures. Still, there are some exceptions. "Examples of non-healing miracles are rare," Father Gregory observed. "When I inquired in Rome, I was told that the only recent case was one in which a huge fire was miraculously put out after prayer. Provided it was proved to be a miracle through the intercession of the Servant of God, it would be as good as a healing miracle. The main thing is that the cure or miracle is beyond the natural powers of men to achieve."

After a moment's reflection, Father Gregory went on to suggest that as more people around the world pray for the intercession of Cardinal Newman, the prospects for discovering a demonstrable miracle will brighten. The centennial anniversary of Newman's death, in 1990, sparked a series of events which increased public recognition of the great English cleric. As a result, the Birmingham Oratory has been receiving many unsolicited requests for prayer-cards, and all of the world's Newman Centers have noticed an increase in requests for intercessory prayers. Public consciousness of the Newman cause is reaching a critical mass. As a result, Father Gregory says, "whenever miracles or causes of canonization are in the news the Oratory receives inquiries from all branches of the media."

He continued: "But while an official Newman miracle is still missing, efforts are being made to develop the link between Newman and the Blessed Dominic Barberi, who received him into the Church on October 9, 1845. This is emerging on a two-way basis, with prayers through Dominic for Newman's beatification and prayers through Newman for Dominic to be canonized."

Tirelessly, Father Gregory Winterton asks people to pray for the necessary miracles--one will be needed for Newman's beatification, and another for his canonization. He knows from his mail that they are responding all over the world. The encouragement he derives from his awareness enables him to assert: "We are completely confident that in God's good time the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman will be beatified, canonized, and made a Doctor of the Church, to give the Church's authority to his already great and increasing spiritual influence."

Peter Jennings, a veteran correspondent for American Catholic publications, was baptized at the Birmingham Oratory by the great Newman scholar Father Stephen Dessain, and since the mid-1970s he has helped Father Gregory Winterton promote the Newman Cause.

The man behind the Newman Cause

from Anglican cleric to Oratorian

Father Gregory Winterton served as provost of Birmingham Oratory from 1971 to1992, holding that office longer than anyone other than Newman himself. Like Newman he was a clergyman in the Church of England before being received into the Catholic Church, becoming a priest, and making his way to the Oratory.

After World War II, his father was British High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief in Austria, and then Allied Commander in Trieste. The young John Winterton left Wellington college and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery from 1941-46. He saw war service in North Africa, Italy, and the Middle East. When the War was over, he went to St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, and the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, where he studied for the Anglican ministry. He was ordained a priest in St. Paul's Cathedral in 1951 and after serving as a curate in Northolt he became priest-in-charge of St. George's Church, Wolverhampton, where he remained until his resignation on January 1, 1955.

He was received into the Catholic Church on Holy Thursday, 1955, and a few days later visited Birmingham Oratory, where the great Newman scholar, Father Stephen Dessain, was provost for the first time in 1971 and saw the Oratory flourish under his leadership.

In the mid-1970s Father Gregory helped to revive popular interest in Cardinal Newman, and inspired the foundation of "The Friends of Cardinal Newman" which now has members throughout the world. He also encouraged parishes to attend the Annual Mass for Newman's beatification and canonization, held on August 11, the anniversary of the Cardinal's death in 1890.

Oratorians plan their celebrations

Recognition of St. Philip Neri, Cardinal Newman

The Provost of the Birmingham Oratory, Father Paul Chavasse, reveals that the English Oratories plan to uses the 150th anniversary of their foundation--on February 2, 1998--as an opportunity for the three houses-(Birmingham, London, and Oxford) to reaffirm their mission as sons of St. Philip Neri on the eve of the third millennium.

The anniversary is on February 2, 1998. Father Chavasse said: "There will be a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving and Te Deum at the Birmingham Oratory, the senior of the three houses, which also hopes to host a series of lectures on the significance of St. Philip and the Oratory at the present time and the relevance of Newman's Oratorian legacy."

He continued: "Two years later, the year 2001 will bring the 200th anniversary of Newman's birth and an opportunity for followers of Newman from all over the world to make a pilgrimage to Birmingham. By that time, plans for a permanent Newman Exhibition will have reached fruition and the publication of his letters and diaries will have been completed."

Father Chavasse hopes that by then the Venerable John Henry Newman will have been beatified. But even if that event is still awaited, there will be special Masses in Birmingham and elsewhere, as well as talks, lectures, exhibitions, cultural events, and visits to places connected with Newman's life.

Father Chavasse describes the realization that as Provost of Birmingham Oratory he is a direct successor to Newman as being "a little humbling." He said: "Because one holds office for only three years, and is subject to triennial election on February 2, it is not possible to see oneself as indispensable on a personal level. But occupying the position means having great responsibilities towards Newman's patrimony.

"This is both physical--through our house and church, library and archives--and spiritual, through our life and worship in the community and parish." he said. "All of these have to be fostered and developed, preserved and maintained according to oratorian principles and in fidelity to our founder and his charism. It all has to be done for the greater good of the Church, both locally and further afield, which is a responsibility and an honor--and often a challenge."

A tribute to Newman in 1990

By Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster

A century after the death of Cardinal Newman on August 11, 1890 the echo of his voice has not faded. If anything it has gained strength. Some of Newman's insights, in particular his keen appreciation of the importance of the role of the laity in the Church and his conviction about religious freedom, had a profound influence on the thinking of the Second Vatican Council.

Newman's life was a remarkable example of man's ceaseless yearning and striving for God. From his Anglican roots to his last days as an oratorian he responded with generous resolve to the call of God.

It is right that we should celebrate him in this centenary year, devote further study to his thought, and give thanks for his life and his extraordinary legacy.