Father McCloskey on Cardinal Newman beatification and the prospects for ecumenism

September 10, 2010

Writing in the Wall Street Journal about the pending beatification of Cardinal Newman, Father C. John McCloskey explains the importance of Cardinal Newman as seen by Pope Benedict XVI, and goes on to comment on the ecumenical dimension of the papal trip. The beatification ceremony will take place as Anglicans weigh the Pope's invitation to do what Newman did: to "swim the Tiber." The Pope's initiative was an effort to help other Christians see the Catholic Church in a new light. Father McCloskey reasons:

If Pope Benedict's outreach meets with even limited success, perhaps tens of millions of fervent Evangelical and Pentecostal "Bible" Christians may want to reexamine more closely this ancient Church as the 500th anniversary of the Reformation draws near in 2017. The mutual momentum towards reunion may be irresistible.

 

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Further information:

• Beyond the Beatification of Cardinal Newman (Wall Street Journal)