Cardinal John Newman, a hero who restored our faith in truth

The most historic engagement of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain later this month is not expected to be any of his addresses or papal masses.

He will be visiting Birmingham where he will beatify – the first step towards being made a saint – Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th Century English clergyman of both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.

Newman was not, as has been suggested, the grandfather of modernism. But he certainly was a powerful intellectual influence on the Second Vatican Council, when Pope John XXIII, elected in 1958, led the way for the Catholic Church to be more receptive to new ideas.

Newman was born in London on February 21, 1801, during the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of six children, three brothers and three sisters. His father was a banker, though the bank was temporarily insolvent in 1819, during the post-Waterloo recession.  Read Article

By William Rees-Mogg