Archbishop of Westminster's Letter
To the Very Reverend
the Provost of the Birmingham Oratory
I regret very much that I am unable to be with you as you celebrate the Bicentenary of John Henry Cardinal Newman. As I leave for Rome for the Consistory, I have been thinking about what John Henry Newman said on the occasion, in March 1879, when he, too, received the Red Hat. Just as we live in troublous times, he too was conscious of the trials and tribulations that beset the Church in her path through history. In Rome he ended his inaugural speech on a note of optimism by saying that 'Christianity has been too often in what seemed deadly peril that we should fear for it any new trial now. .…. Commonly, the Church has nothing more to do than to go on in her own proper duties, in confidence and peace, to stand still and to see the salvation of God'.
Newman's profound insight into the nature and motives of religious faith have established him among the greatest of Christian thinkers. The Catholic Church has so much to be thankful for to John Henry Newman for his creativity, loyalty and faith. While he was always faithful to the tradition of the Church, he constantly explored new ways of communicating the eternal truth of Jesus Christ. We can do no better in our own time than to ask the prayers of the Venerable John Henry Newman for the Church in this country.
May God bless you all and may your celebration of the Bicentenary of John Henry Cardinal Newman be a successful and fruitful one.
Archbishop of Westminster.