Prince Charles pens tribute to Cardinal Newman, canonized today

Walt almost never reads L'Ossservatore Romano, the daily newspaper (but not the official publication) of the Holy See, since these days it is little more than a propaganda sheet for the ultra-liberal Jesuits, who, led by Pope Francis, are leading the Roman Catholic Church down the road to heresy and irrelevance. To learn more about the diabolical disorientation of Francis' Church, check out Michael Matt's latest video, "Hippies in the Vatican: A Groovy Kind of Synod", 12/10/19.

Today, however, the front page of L'Osservatore Romano features "John Henry Newman: The harmony of difference", a lengthy op-ed piece by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, on the occasion of today's canonization of Cardinal Newman. He calls the canonization "a cause of celebration not merely in the United Kingdom, and not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired."

John Henry Newman was a 19th-century Anglican priest and scholar who converted to Catholicism at the age of 44 and was later made a cardinal. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Today he becomes the first Briton in four decades to be declared a saint. Prince Charles held him up as "a great Briton" and "one of the greatest theologians of the nineteenth century [who] applied his intellect to one of the most pressing questions of our era: what should be the relationship of faith to a sceptical, secular age?"

Prince Charles continues: "...first with Anglican theology, and then, after his conversion, Catholic theology, [Saint John Henry Newman] impressed even his opponents with its fearless honesty, its unsparing rigour and its originality of thought. Whatever our own beliefs, and no matter what our own tradition may be, we can only be grateful to Newman for the gifts, rooted in his Catholic faith, which he shared with wider society.

"His faith was truly catholic in that it embraced all aspects of life. It is in that same spirit that we, whether we are Catholics or not, can, in the tradition of the Christian Church throughout the ages, embrace the unique perspective, the particular wisdom and insight, brought to our universal experience by this one individual soul. We can draw inspiration from his writings and his life even as we recognise that, like all human lives, it was inevitably flawed. Newman himself was aware of his failings, such as pride and defensiveness which fell short of his own ideals, but which, ultimately, left him only more grateful for the mercy of God.

"Those of all traditions who seek to define and defend Christianity have found themselves grateful for the way he reconciled faith and reason. Those who seek the divine in what can seem like an increasingly hostile intellectual environment find in him a powerful ally who championed the individual conscience against an overwhelming relativism.

"And perhaps most relevantly of all at this time, when we have witnessed too many grievous assaults by the forces of intolerance on communities and individuals, including many Catholics, because of their beliefs, he is a figure who stood for his convictions despite the disadvantages of belonging to a religion whose adherents were denied full participation in public life. Through the whole process of Catholic emancipation and the restoration of the Catholic Church hierarchy, he was the leader his people, his church and his times needed."

Considering what has happened to the Church he loved in the 20th century, Saint John Henry Newman was blessed to have died in 1890, during the reign of Pope Leo XIII, mere moths before Leo's promulgation of Rerum Novarum, subtitled "On the Conditions of Labor", in which he articulated the Church's response to the social conflict that had risen in the wake of capitalism and industrialization and that had led to the rise of socialism and communism as ideologies.

The saint would surely not recognize today's world, dominated by leftist ideology, nor today's Catholic Church, ditto. Saint John Henry Newman, pray for Holy Mother Church, and pray that God will raise up a courageous leader like yourself, to confound the apostates and heretics who are perverting our Catholic Faith, and set His Church back on the right course. Amen.

American Catholics to lead revitalization of the Faith? Really???

Walt is shaking his head [so hard his little brain is rattling. Ed.] at a statement reportedly made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. Speaking at the Pontifical College Joesphinum, in Ohio, on April 27th, Abp. Vigano called on American Catholics to "lead the entire Church in the world" to revitalize the Faith. And, he said, his call was "the vision of the Holy Father".

Which leads me to wonder, has Abp. Vigano taken leave of his senses, or is it the Pope himself who needs to have his vision corrected. Granted, the Faith in Europe is in a sad state of decline, and badly needs an example. But looking to the liberalism and unorthodoxy of the mainstream Catholic Church in America as a source of leadership and inspiration... that really is a very bad joke. Walt will tell you why.

Item: According to a recent opinion poll, "Catholic" voters in the US still (narrowly) favour the re-election of Barack Hussein Obama -- the president who has virtually declared war on the Church by mandating that Catholic institutions provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to their employees.

Item: In April, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria was widely criticized by other Catholic bishops and priests for having the temerity to denounce the Obama régime and remind Catholics that it is their duty to vote their consciences.

Item: Bishop Jenky came under "friendly fire" from the faculty of Notre Dame University, but that's nothing. Now the IRS is said to be considering an investigation of his remarks. There (potentially) goes the Church’s tax-exempt status!

Item: Many so-called "Catholic" colleges and universities in the USA will feature pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage commencement speakers in the coming weeks. Among those providing a bully pulpit for anti-Catholicism is Georgetown University (visited by Walt in person just two weeks ago) which will host "Health and Human Services" Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's point person on the pro-choice file.

CatholicCulture reminds us that in 2008, Archbishop Joseph Naumann revealed that he had asked Sebelius not to receive Holy Communion because of her support for legalized abortion. Four years earlier, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that "the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

The Cardinal Newman Society has collected well over 12,000 signatures on an e-petition opposing the appearance of Ms Sebelius. (Click here to add your signature!) And yet the Catholic "leaders" Abp. Vigano is counting on -- his office, by the way, is not all that far from GU -- remain unmoved.

Item: Speaking of "unmoved", a "Catholic" wimmin's group calling itself the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the U.S., recently rebuked by a Vatican report for its departure from Catholic teaching in several areas, is far from bowing its head. The LCWR has enlisted the support of the lamestream media, which is accusing the hierarchy of trying to suppress progressive opinion in the Church. The real story is quite different. The Vatican's problems with the LCWR are doctrinal, not political. Period.

One last item: A survey of America’s youngest voters has found that many young people are drifting away from the religion in which they were raised. The study by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center found that Catholics and mainline Protestants were most likely to change their religious affiliations, with Catholic students rejecting their Faith at higher rates than non-Catholics. Hardly surprising, at Georgetown.

So... who is misinformed about the state of the Church in the USA? Is it Archbishop Vigano or Pope Benedict himself? Could it be that the situation in Europe is so dire that Catholicism in America looks healthy by comparison?

Another question. Whence cometh the optimism of the Holy Father (or Abp. Vigano) that the worldwide loss of the Faith can be halted (let alone reversed) by the leadership and example of the American Church?

Could it be that the Pope and his minion have forgotten about... or simply do not believe in... the prophecy and request of Our Lady of Fatima? The Fatima Prophecy makes no mention of the United States. The Blessed Virgin names Russia as the key to world peace... or the agent of world chastisement.

It is Russia, She tells us, not the United States, that will revitalize the Faith, but only after Russia is converted to Catholicism. And that will happen only after the Pope, acting in union with the bishops (including Abp. Vigano), consecrates Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.

It is to Our Lady, not the American Church, that the Holy Father must look for the means to revitalize the True Faith. Let us pray he heeds Her requests... soon!