The Legacy of John Henry Newman: Essays for the Beatification ed. by James Mirabal (review)

NEWMAN STUDIES JOURNAL 92 4 Frank M.Turner,John Henry Newman:The Challenge to Evangelical Religion (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002), reviewed by Edward Enright, Newman Studies Journal 1:1 (Spring 2004): 77–78. 5 Although authors, such as Sheridan Gilley (Newman and His Age, London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1990) have attempted to contextualize Newman in his historical epoch, the method of presentation and assumptions fell short of adequately presenting Newman to the contemporary reader. Martin’s or Ian Ker’s3 —or—like Frank Turner’s4 —take the photo negative of him as a self-absorbed, deceitful actor traipsing across a Victorian stage. The former biographies tend to gloss over Newman’s rougher spots while the latter may show some angles hitherto unseen but ultimately offer a mendacious image not worth the printed paper. Both, however, have Newman at center stage with a supporting cast moving about a Victorian background. As we settle into the new millennium, one wonders if the cast and the background, and thus Newman, have become too unfamiliar to contemporary readers. For Newman to be known again―the names and places and works with which many biographers assume readers are acquainted―a new presentation of his life needs to emerge. For example, an overview of British history that explains the various actors as well as a theological/ecclesiological primer should accompany a biographical account of Newman so that readers do not become disoriented or bored with the endless array of names and places and concepts.5 Moreover, this material should show historical connections and theological parallels could be made to the present, thus offering readers a true glimpse of what development―continuity and change―means through Newman’s life and work. Although this additional material might replace tidy, short biographies like Martin’s with a more extensive treatment, such material would help to illuminate Newman’s importance for contemporary persons looking for a kindly light to navigate the dangerous shoals of this world. David Peter Delio. Our Lady of Holy Cross College, New Orleans, LA. The Legacy of John Henry Newman: Essays for the Beatification. Edited by James Mirabal. Grandpont Papers 2. Oxford: Grandpont House, 2010. Pages 112. Paper, £ 10.00. ISBN 978–0–9522167–1–1. In the months preceding Cardinal Newman’s beatification on 19 September 2010, several scholars delivered papers at Grandpont House, Oxford, in honor of Newman’s vast contribution to the Church. A fitting place for such a tribute, Grandpont House, set above the Thames and overlooking Christ Church Meadows, was established in 1959 by St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. The purpose of Grandpont House was and is to provide a venue for cultural,academic and spiritual activities for students and other people at Oxford. These papers prepared in anticipation of Newman’s beatification have been collected into a carefully edited volume of essays, with a table of contents, list of abbreviations, and an index.These essays reflect Newman’s wide ranging contributions to the Church including his singular insights regarding the role of the laity in the Church, his ground-breaking ideas on university education, his clarification of issues relating to reason and faith, 93 and his particular genius in speaking to the moral conscience of believers. This collection opens with a short introduction about the topics of the lectures and the lecturers—all of whom are former residents and chaplains of Grandpont. The first lecturer,Msgr.Richard Stork,discussed“Newman and the Laity.” Stork,who wrote his doctoral dissertation on John Henry Newman and the Laity (Rome: Lateran University, 1966.), began by referring to Newman’s sermon “The Three Offices of Christ,” which described the priestly, prophetic and kingly roles of the laity. Stork then examined three of Newman’s“tests”for true development (Preservation ofType, Anticipation of an Idea,and Power of Assimilation) and concluded that these tests are met in his doctrine on the laity. Newman thought the laity had previously been considered as only a passive element and not an integral part of the Church. Stork’s excellent overview of Newman’s thought about the laity leaves one with the desire for further exploration into the influence Newman had...