Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale622

The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved

applying his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing

"subjects of the day". His insights into the relationship between faith and

reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society, and into

the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were

not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today

to inspire and enlighten many all over the world. I would like to pay parti-

cular tribute to his vision for education, which has done so much to shape the

ethos that is the driving force behind Catholic schools and colleges today.

Firmly opposed to any reductive or utilitarian approach, he sought to

achieve an educational environment in which intellectual training, moral

discipline and religious commitment would come together. The project to

found a Catholic University in Ireland provided him with an opportunity

to develop his ideas on the subject, and the collection of discourses that he

published as The Idea of a University holds up an ideal from which all those

engaged in academic formation can continue to learn. And indeed, what

better goal could teachers of religion set themselves than Blessed John Hen-

ry's famous appeal for an intelligent, well-instructed laity: "I want a laity,

not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their

religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what

they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can

give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it".5

On this day when the author of those words is raised to the altars, I pray

that, through his intercession and example, all who are engaged in the task of

teaching and catechesis will be inspired to greater effort by the vision he so

clearly sets before us.

While it is John Henry Newman's intellectual legacy that has under-

standably received most attention in the vast literature devoted to his life

and work, I prefer on this occasion to conclude with a brief reflection on his

life as a priest, a pastor of souls. The warmth and humanity underlying his

appreciation of the pastoral ministry is beautifully expressed in another of his

famous sermons: "Had Angels been your priests, my brethren, they could not

have condoled with you, sympathized with you, have had compassion on

you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they

could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you on from

5 The Present Position of Catholics in England, IX, 390.