Cor ad Cor Loquitur, May 12, 1879

Pope Leo XIII made Father John Henry Newman a Cardinal Deacon with the titular church of St. George in Velabro on May 12, 1879 (131 years ago). There was some misunderstanding about the offer of the Cardinal’s hat to Newman as he did not want to/could not move to Rome as was the custom at that time (because of his age and failing health, and his work at the Oratory). The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Henry Manning, who did not always appreciate Father Newman’s efforts and talents, may or may not have intentionally contributed to the impression that Newman wanted to decline the honor (leaving out his concerns about staying in England). Newman’s bishop had to straighten things out quite a bit between Newman and Manning to get the right message back to Rome.

Pope Leo XIII honored Newman in spite of the fact, as he said, that so many told him that Newman was a liberal—also, Newman was not a bishop. He referred to Newman as “My Cardinal”. Many in England rejoiced at the news of Newman’s honor and he felt that the cloud of distrust and trouble had been lifted.

When receiving the letter or biglietto conferring the Cardinal’s hat, Newman gave his famous Biglietto Speech against the anti-dogmatic principle of Liberalism in religion, saying he had fought against it for thirty, forty, fifty years:

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another, and this is the teaching which is gaining substance and force daily. It is inconsistent with any recognition of any religion, as true. It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. Devotion is not necessarily founded on faith. Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither. They may fraternise together in spiritual thoughts and feelings, without having any views at all of doctrine in common, or seeing the need of them. Since, then, religion is so personal a peculiarity and so private a possession, we must of necessity ignore it in the intercourse of man with man. If a man puts on a new religion every morning, what is that to you? It is as impertinent to think about a man’s religion as about his sources of income or his management of his family. Religion is in no sense the bond of society.”

In the last decade of the last century, then Father Avery Dulles visited Newman University (then Kansas Newman College) to give a lecture on the anniversary of Newman joining the Catholic Church. Cardinal Dulles analyzed the pattern of Newman’s conversion and noted that at each stage (evangelical, Anglican, and Catholic) there was a common theme: Newman seeking the true teaching and true Church of Jesus Christ. He could not imagine the Christian religion without Truth—and that meant religion had content, doctrine, and authority. Robert Pattison’s The Great Dissent: John Henry Newman and the Liberal Heresy provides a tremendously comprehensive and provocative analysis of Newman’s constant attack on Liberalism in religion. Pattison says that Newman failed; Pope Benedict XVI, in beatifying him, says otherwise!

The Biglietto Speech of May 12, 1879 does indeed offer a summary of this aspect of Newman’s life and thought—and I believe that Newman’s call for champions to defend the Truth is one we should especially heed and act upon as we anticipate his beatification on Sunday, September 19th this year.

Newman and the Via Media

On the eve of the anniversary of Newman receiving word of his Cardinal's Hat, I've read indications that Venerable Newman is still a figure of controversy. The London Times recently printed an article by John Cornwell arguing that Pope Benedict XVI is trying to hijack the liberal Newman for his own conservative causes.

The problem with Cornwell or someone taking an opposite position is that Venerable Newman is NEITHER a Liberal NOR a Conservative. Those are political terms that have no place in any discussion about a man who searched for the TRUTH all his life long (sorry for the shouting, but I need to emphasize!). As I have read and studied Venerable Newman, I think he always found the third way, the way between extremes--not moderation, obviously, but not a position either on the left or on the right. When he was active in the Oxford Movement, he was seeking the via media; when he became a Catholic he was still seeking the via media.

As an example: when Ward was on one side and Acton on the other side of the First Vatican Council's debate on the issue of Papal Infallibility, Newman developed another position. Newman was neither as enthusiastic as Ward, who wanted a Papal Bull delivered with the The Times daily, nor as negative as Action, who was influenced by Dollinger. Although he had concerns about the timing and the impact of the doctrinal declaration, once it was accomplished he obeyed and even defended it!

The Catholic Herald has a much better analysis of Venerable Newman with a review of two excellent sources on his life and work. I have read the Roderick Strange volume and posted a review on amazon.com; the Cambridge companion is on my stack. I agree with Jonathan Wright's quotation of Cardinal Avery Dulles' wisdom on studying Newman:

In his contribution to the Cambridge volume Avery Dulles offers some sage advice to those who want to understand the man: "To profit from Newman's wisdom we should not be content to quote statements from one or another of his works." That, Dulles argues, is a perilous pursuit because Newman was not a flawlessly systematic thinker and his ideas evolved over time.

We ought to read as much Newman as possible and, as Dulles concludes, "for those who have the patience to familiarise themselves with the full corpus of his writing, he is a teacher almost without peer".

Venerable John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Apology Accepted, Part Two

The Catholic Herald reports that the Foreign Office is following up to make sure another "foolish" memo doesn't hit the news--

An experienced diplomat is to take over the Foreign Office team which prepared a controversial memo for the Pope's visit to Britain.

George Edgar, a senior diplomat in his 50s, was appointed take over the team responsible for writing the memo that suggested the Pope open an abortion ward during his four-day visit to Britain in September.

His predecessor, Anjoum Noorani, 31, was at first moved sideways and later suspended for his role in the affair after senior Catholics put pressure on the Foreign Office for firmer action.

A spokesman for the Church welcomed the news, saying that it was a positive sign that the Foreign Office had chosen a senior diplomat who would be more sensitive to the issues at stake.

Tudor Propaganda at Cambridge

In last year’s December 19th issue of the Wall Street Journal, the back page of the Weekend section included a story on King’s College Chapel at the University of Cambridge. The author noted how the changes in the monarchy delayed and then jump-started its completion after Henry VI began construction in 1446. The delays are understandable when you remember that Edward IV murdered Henry VI and then Richard III usurped the throne, only to be vanquished in the battle of Bosworth Field. The late medieval kings of England were too busy fighting for the throne to finish building a chapel.

When Henry VII came to the throne, Carola Hicks, author of The King’s Glass: A Study of Tudor Power and Secret Art, says that it took him some time to realize the propaganda opportunities for his new dynasty in the chapel’s decoration. The Tudor founder aligned himself iconographically with the kings and prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament. After his father died, Henry VIII had to be advised by Cardinal Wolsey that, since he needed the support of the University of Cambridge in the matter of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he had better finish what his father started—although the rapid succession of his queens throughout his reign sometimes made hard work for the artisans installing the stained glass. Anne’s out—Jane’s in; Anne’s out—Catherine’s in!

Wonderfully, King’s College Chapel survived Edward VI’s Calvinist Reformation, not to mention the English Civil War and the Interregnum rule of the iconoclastic Puritan Parliament and Oliver Cromwell. We are also fortunate that no one remodeled it, as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was during the reign of King Louis XIV when stained glass was not in style. The Gothic architecture so highly developed in the fan vaulting and perpendicular style would fall out of favor in England after the English Reformation, not to be revived until Pugin began his great work in the nineteenth century.

Apology Accepted

Sometimes the use of historical events or persons is a little weird. It’s like the event or person is so far out of the context that the original significance is lost. I have two examples in mind:

1) For some reason, a “diplomat” in the Foreign Office in England sent around a foolish memo of brainstormed ideas re: Pope Benedict XVI’s STATE VISIT (at the invitation of the Prime Minister and welcomed by Queen Elizabeth I), with a list of suggestions, all in poor taste. This memo included the notion that the pope should apologize for the Spanish Armada.

Why?

It failed! The Spanish lost!

Perhaps Queen Elizabeth II should apologize for her namesake’s lack of interest in the Battle of Lepanto, the great naval battle against the Turks the Spanish won. The Foreign Office apologized and the diplomat has been reassigned.

2) For even less reason, the Republican Governor’s Association has adopted Guy Fawkes as a heroic figure. “Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November” is being adapted (“Remember November”) as a motto for peaceful regime change in the mid-term general election.

The problem is that Guy Fawkes conspired to blow up Parliament and the royal family early in the reign of James I in a foolish plot by desperate Catholics to overthrow the government and lead an uprising in England—The Gunpowder Plot.

Oh—he failed. And because the Gunpowder Plot failed, things got a lot worse for Catholics in England. I don’t think that’s a parallel the politicians thought of!

The Foreign Office and the Republican Governor’s Association should investigate these historical analogies a little bit further before citing them. I can suggest a source of good information . . . .

William Byrd and Playing Elizabeth’s Tune

The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, released a CD and DVD of William Byrd’s music in 2006 titled Playing Elizabeth’s Tune. The DVD includes performances of his music recorded in Tewkesbury Abbey. Then Charles Hazlewood explores the historical context of Byrd’s position as a Catholic musician serving Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant queen persecuting his fellow Catholics. It is a very good presentation of the times and I enjoy the Tallis Scholars’ performances.

Another recording of William Byrd music I have really enjoyed contrasts his Catholic, Latin works with Thomas Tallis’ works for Protestant services in English. Stile Antico performs Byrd’s motets and Tallis’ psalm tunes alternating throughout the album, Heavenly Harmonies.

Tyburn Tree and the English Martyrs

For the Memorial today of the English Martyrs, here is a fascinating poem by Francis Thompson (best known for “The Hound of Heaven”) on the English Martyrs, which I found on this blog:

RAIN, rain on Tyburn tree,
Red rain a-falling;
Dew, dew on Tyburn tree,
Red dew on Tyburn tree,
And the swart bird a-calling.
Thence it roots so fast and free,
Yet it is a gaunt tree,
Black as be
The swart birds alone that seek,
With red-bedabbled breast and beak,
Its lank black shadow falling.

The shadow lies on England now
Of the deathly-fruited bough,
Cold and black with malison
Lies between the land and sun;
Putting out the sun, the bough
Shades England now!

The troubled heavens do wan with care,
And burthened with the earth’s despair
Shiver a-cold ; the starved heaven
Has want with wanting man bereaven.
Blest fruit of the unblest bough!
Aid the land that smote you, now!
Which feels the sentence and the curse
Ye died if so ye might reverse.
When God was stolen from out man’s mouth,
Stolen was the bread; then hunger and drouth
Went to and fro ; began the wail,
Struck root the poor-house and the jail.
Ere cut the dykes, let through that flood,
Ye writ the protest with your blood ;
Against this night wherein our breath
Withers, the toiled heart perisheth,
Entered the caveat of your death.
Christ, in the form of His true Bride,
Again hung pierced and crucified,
And groaned, “I thirst!” Not still ye stood,—
Ye had your hearts, ye had your blood ;
And pouring out the eager cup,
“The wine is weak, yet, Lord Christ, sup !
“Ah, blest ! who bathed the parched Vine
With richer than His Cana-wine,
And heard, your most sharp supper past,
“Ye kept the best wine to the last !”

Ah, happy who
That sequestered secret knew,
How sweeter than bee-haunted dells
The blosmy blood of martyrs smells!
Who did upon the scaffold’s bed,
The ceremonial steel between you, wed
With God’s grave proxy, high and reverend Death ;
Or felt about your neck, sweetly,
(While the dull horde
Saw but the unrelenting cord)
The Bridegroom’s arm, and that long kiss
That kissed away your breath, and claimed you His.
You did, with thrift of holy gain,
Unvenoming the sting of pain,
Hive its sharp heather-honey. Ye
Had sentience of the mystery
To make Abaddon’s hooked wings
Buoy you up to starry things ;
Pain of heart, and pain of sense,
Pain the scourge, ye taught to cleanse ;
Pain the loss became possessing ;
Pain the curse was pain the blessing.
Chains, rack, hunger, solitude these,
Which did your soul from earth release,
Left it free to rush upon
And merge in its compulsive sun.
Desolated, bruised, forsaken,
Nothing taking, all things taken,
Lacerated and tormented,
The stifled soul, in naught contented,
On all hands straitened, cribbed, denied,
Can but fetch breath o’ the Godward side.
Oh to me, give but to me
That flower of felicity,
Which on your topmost spirit ware
The difficult and snowy air
Of high refusal ! and the heat
Of central love which fed with, sweet
And holy fire i’ the frozen sod
Roots that had ta’en hold on God.

Unwithering youth in you renewed
Those rosy waters of your blood,—
The true Fons Juventutis—ye
Pass with conquest that Red Sea,
And stretch out your victorious hand
Over the Fair and Holy Land;
Compasses about
With a ninefold-battled shout,
Trumpet, and wind and clang of wings,
And a thousand fiery things,
And Heaven’s triumphing spears: while far
Beneath go down the Egyptian war—
A loosed hillside—with brazen jar
Underneath your dreadful blood,
Into steep night. Celestial feud
Not long forbears the Tudor’s brood,
Rule, unsoldered from his line,
See unto the Scot decline ;
And the kin Scots’ weird shall be
Axe, exile and infamy ;
Till the German fill the room
Of him who gave the bloody doom.
Oh by the Church’s pondering art
Late set and named upon the chart
Of her divine astronomy,
Though your influence from on high
Long ye shed unnoted! Bright
New cluster in our Northern night!
Cleanse from its pain and undelight
An impotent and tarnished hymn,
Whose marish exhalations dim
Splendours they would transfuse! And thou
Kindle the words which blot thee now,
Over whose sacred corse unhearsed
Europe veiled her face, and cursed
The regal mantle grained in gore
Of Genius, Freedom, Faith and More!

Ah, happy Fool of Christ ! unawed
By familiar sanctities,
You served your Lord at holy ease.
Dear Jester in the Courts of God !
In whose spirit, enchanting yet,
Wisdom and love, together met,
Laughed on each other for content !
That an inward merriment,
An inviolate soul of pleasure
To your motions taught a measure
All your days ; which tyrant king,
Nor bonds, nor any bitter thing
Could embitter or perturb ;
No daughter’s tears, nor more acerb,
A daughter’s frail declension from
Thy serene example, come
Between thee and thy much content.
Nor could the last sharp argument
Turn thee from thy sweetest folly ;
To the keen accolade and holy
Thou didst bend low a sprightly knee,
And jest Death out of gravity
As a too sad-visaged friend ;
So, jocund, passing to the end
Of thy laughing martyrdom,
And now from travel art gone home
Where, since gain of thee was given,
Surely there is more mirth in heaven !

Thus, in Fisher and in thee,
Arose the purple dynasty,
The anointed Kings of Tyburn tree ;
High in act and word each one.
He that spake and to the sun
Pointed—”I shall shortly be
Above yon fellow.” He too, he
No less high of speech and brave,
Whose word was : “Though I shall have
Sharp dinner, yet I trust in Christ
To have a most sweet supper.” Priced
Much by men that utterance was
Of the doomed Leonidas,
Not more exalt than these, which note
Men who thought as Shakespeare wrote.

But more lofty eloquence
Than is writ by poets’ pens
Lives in your great deaths : O these
Have more fire than poesies !
And more ardent than all ode
The pomps and raptures of your blood !
By that blood ye hold in fee
This earth of England ; Kings are ye,
And ye have armies Want, and Cold,
And heavy judgements manifold
Hung in the unhappy air, and Sins
That the sick gorge to heave begins,
Agonies, and Martyrdoms,
Love, Hope, Desire, and all that comes
From the unwatered soul of man
Gaping on God. These are the van
Of conquest, these obey you ; these,
And all the strengths of weaknesses,
That brazen walls disbed. Your hand,
Princes, put forth to the command,
And levy upon the guilty land
Your saving wars ; on it go down,
Black beneath God’s and heaven’s frown ;
Your prevalent approaches make
With unsustainable Grace, and take
Captive the land that captived you ;
To Christ enslave ye and subdue
Her so bragged freedom : for the crime
She wrought on you in antique time,
Parcel the land among you : reign,
Viceroys to your sweet Suzerain 1
Till she shall know
This lesson in her overthrow :
Hardest servitude has he
That’s gaoled in arrogant liberty ;
And freedom, spacious and unflawed,
Who is walled about with God.

Holy Martyrs of England and Wales, pray for us!

May 4 Radio Interview

If you wish to listen to my radio interview tomorrow morning discussing the Catholic Martyrs of England and Wales on their memorial, please visit my website for links to Sacred Heart Radio in Cincinnati and to The Son Rise Morning Show blog, where they post podcasts after the show airs. Just click on the Contact/Events tab. (Please note there are also links for ordering Supremacy and Survival: How Catholics Endured the English Reformation if your local bookstore does not carry it!) Also, if you subscribe to The Catholic Answer magazine, my article on the English Martyrs is on-line from the January/February 2010 issue.

Prelude to a Feast

In England and Wales, Tuesday, May 4th, is the Memorial of the Martyrs of England and Wales, which honors all those beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 and canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

I will be on The Son Rise Morning Show Tuesday morning at 7:45 Eastern/6:45 Central to talk with Brian Patrick about this feast, focusing on the Carthusian priors martyred on May 4, 1535. These are the priors St. Thomas More saw from his cell in the Tower of London being led away to Tyburn for their executions for treason against Henry VIII. They had refused to swear the Oath of Supremacy and were thus drawn, hung, and quartered in their habits, including their hair shirts, which posed difficulties for their executioner. Thomas More had tried his vocation at the Charterhouse in London—these monks were renowned for their observance of the rule (there was certainly no corruption or laxity among them!). He remarked to his daughter Meg that the priors went as joyfully to their deaths as bridegrooms to their weddings! It was no accident that More saw them on their hurdles—this was a warning to him.

The rest of the Carthusians received ever more brutal sentences of execution—Henry VIII really wanted to make an example of them: some were hung and left to die of exposure (dehydration) and others were starved to death in prison, chained standing up in their cells. This blog (The Hermeneutic of Continuity) includes a post with pictures from a Carthusian chapter house depicting their martyrdoms.

The Carthusians of the Charterhouse of London:
· Saint John Houghton, prior of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535.
· Saint Robert Lawrence, prior of Beauvale Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535.
· Saint Augustine Webster, prior of Axholme Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535.
· Blessed Humphrey Middlemore, vicar of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on June 19, 1535.
· Blessed William Exmew, procurator of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on June 19, 1535.
· Blessed Sebastian Newdigate, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on June 19, 1535.
· Blessed John Rochester, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, exiled by the government to the Charterhouse of St Michael at Hull in Yorkshire, executed at York on May 11, 1537, by being hanged in chains from the city battlements until dead.
· Blessed James Walworth, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, exiled by the government to the Charterhouse of St Michael at Hull in Yorkshire, executed at York on May 11, 1537, by being hanged in chains from the city battlements until dead.
· Blessed William Greenwood, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 6, 1537
· Blessed John Davy, deacon, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, and two days later the deacon on June 8. 1537
· Blessed Robert Salt, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 9, 1537
· Blessed Walter Pierson, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 10, 1537
· Blessed Thomas Green (perhaps alias Thomas Greenwood), choir monk of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 10, 1537
· Blessed Thomas Scryven, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 15, 1537
· Blessed Thomas Redyng, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on June 16, 1537
· Blessed Richard Bere, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on August 9, 1537
· Blessed Thomas Johnson, choir monk of the London Charterhouse, died of starvation in Newgate Prison, London on September 20, 1537
· Blessed William Horne, laybrother of the London Charterhouse, hanged, disembowelled, and quartered at Tyburn, London on August 4, 1540.

The next group includes the martyrs Pope Paul canonized on October 25, 1970. This list contains many famous names: St. Edmund Campion, St. Margaret Clitherow, St. Philip Howard, St. Robert Southwell, etc. On The Son Rise Morning Show, I have been discussing some of these saints on the anniversary of their martyrdoms. Actually, St. Margaret Clitherow, St. Anne Line, and St. Margaret Ward are all honored on a separate feast day on August 30th.

· Saint John Almond
· Saint Edmund Arrowsmith
· Saint Ambrose Barlow
· Saint John Boste
· Saint Alexander Briant
· Saint Edmund Campion
· Saint Margaret Clitherow
· Saint Philip Evans
· Saint Thomas Garnet
· Saint Edmund Gennings
· Saint Richard Gwyn
· Saint John Houghton
· Saint Philip Howard
· Saint John Jones
· Saint John Kemble
· Saint Luke Kirby
· Saint Robert Lawrence
· Saint David Lewis
· Saint Anne Line
· Saint John Lloyd
· Saint Cuthbert Mayne
· Saint Henry Morse
· Saint Nicholas Owen
· Saint John Payne
· Saint Polydore Plasden
· Saint John Plessington
· Saint Richard Reynolds
· Saint John Rigby
· Saint John Roberts
· Saint Alban Roe
· Saint Ralph Sherwin
· Saint John Southworth
· Saint Robert Southwell
· Saint John Stone
· Saint John Wall
· Saint Henry Walpole
· Saint Margaret Ward
· Saint Augustine Webster
· Saint Swithun Wells
· Saint Eustace White

These are the names of those beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 22, 1987. The martyrs are not as well known, but they are mostly priests who were executed for being present in England during the recusant era starting during Elizabeth I’s reign:

· John Adams
· Thomas Atkinson
· Edward Bamber
· George Beesley
· Arthur Bell
· Thomas Belson
· Robert Bickerdike
· Alexander Blake
· Marmaduke Bowes
· John Bretton
· Thomas Bullaker
· Edward Burden
· Roger Cadwallador
· William Carter
· Alexander Crowe
· William Davies
· Robert Dibdale
· George Douglas
· Robert Drury
· Edmund Duke
· George Errington
· Roger Filcock
· John Fingley
· Matthew Flathers
· Richard Flower
· Nicholas Garlick
· William Gibson
· Ralph Grimston
· Robert Grissold
· John Hambley
· Robert Hardesty
· George Haydock
· Richard Hill
· John Hogg
· Richard Holiday
· Nicholas Horner
· Thomas Hunt
· Thurstan Hunt
· Francis Ingleby
· William Knight
· Joseph Lampton
· William Lampley
· John Lowe
· Robert Ludlam
· Charles Meehan
· Robert Middleton
· George Nichols
· John Norton (martyr)
· Robert Nutter
· Edward Osbaldeston
· Anthony Page
· Thomas Palaser
· William Pike
· Thomas Pilcher
· Thomas Pormort
· Nicholas Postgate
· Humphrey Pritchard
· Christopher Robinson
· Stephen Rowsham
· John Sandys
· Montford Scott
· Richard Sergeant
· Richard Simpson
· Peter Snow
· William Southerne
· William Spenser
· Thomas Sprott
· John Sugar
· Robert Sutton
· Edmund Sykes
· John Talbot
· Hugh Taylor
· William Thomson
· Robert Thorpe
· John Thules
· Edward Thwing
· Thomas Watkinson
· Henry Webley
· Christopher Wharton
· Thomas Whittaker
· John Woodcock
· Nicholas Woodfen
· Roger Wrenno
· Richard Yaxley

Each of these lists could be used in a litany for private devotion (Saint John Houghton, pray for us; Saint Robert Lawrence, pray for us; Saint Augustine Webster, pray for us and so on). Thinking of the willingness of these priests to lay down their lives to serve the stricken Catholic people of England could be fruitful in this Year of the Priest. Another way to honor these men and women on their memorial is to be as true to the Catholic faith as they were. We may not have the opportunity to die for Christ, but we certainly must live for Christ. They did both and thus truly blessed.

Countdown

Confessions of a Ci-Devant has begun a series of posts describing the events leading to the execution of Anne Boleyn on May 19, 1536. It will surely be fascinating to follow.