Why Saint John Henry Newman Matters
In 1845, an Anglican priest and intellectual by the name of John Henry Newman, converted to the Catholic faith. Two years later, he was ordained a Catholic priest. At the age of 78, Pope Leo XIII named him a Cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in 2010 and just nine years later Pope Francis canonized him a saint of the Catholic Church. And now, the current Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is following his namesake in elevating Saint John Henry Newman yet again - naming him our newest Doctor of the Church alongside greats like St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila and others.
But, what is it about this man that makes his life and teachings so unique and profound for Catholics today? Here are six unique contributions Newman made to Catholic thought that matter today more than ever.
Doctrine is dynamic, not stagnant.
In An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Newman argues that the Church’s doctrine can evolve, so long as it remains faithful to the original revelation from which it comes. That is to say that a seed planted can become a tree over time. However, an important point is that the seed can't become something other than what it is - ie an animal. Doctrine can't change into something else, but it can develop. He uses teachings on the Trinity and Marian dogmas to show that later Magisterial teachings are not corruptions but an entrance deeper into our understanding of God handed down through the ages. This is a key differentiator between Catholics and Protestants, and a fulfillment of Jesus’s desire to teach us more before he died and ascended. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (Jn 16:12). Jesus has continued his teaching to the faithful for 2,000 years, taking us deeper into His original teachings through the Church.
Moral conscience is primary.
Newman described our conscience not as a feeling but a true prompting of the Holy Spirit within the individual, grounded in divine law and carrying authority. Obviously, a person’s true conscience could never prompt them to do something contrary to the moral law, but it will help to guide them in making decisions toward it. Through this teaching the Catholic Church has continued to grow in its respect for an individual’s rights of conscience and the protection of those rights in ecclesial, political and secular spheres.
The Church is a living body, not an institution.
According to Newman, the Church is not simply an institution or a set of rules and doctrines, but a living organism that grows, struggles and continues throughout time. Much as humans are both material and spiritual, he used this teaching to fight against rigid institutionalism and chaotic innovation while keeping the Church’s spirit firmly rooted in her body and developing naturally.
The laity have an important role in preserving the faith.
Newman taught that the laity have an essential role in preserving the faith, not just the clergy, stating the “Church would look foolish without the laity.” He stressed education, participation, and lay voices in Church life prophetically paving the way for the great documents and teachings on the role of the laity that came from the second Vatican council.
Faith is reasonable but not reducible to logic.
In The Grammar of Assent, Newman argued that people come to believe through a unique, mixed and converging set of experiences, probabilities, and personal judgments - not formulaic or mathematical proofs. He emphasized the whole person - reason, imagination, and emotion - in the development of faith. While he wasn’t a psychologist or an existentialist, he was ahead of his time - blending these schools of thought and grounding them in a new way of looking at evangelization that focuses on the person, not the problem.
Christian unity is achievable through humility and generosity.
Through the Oxford Movement, he taught that Anglicanism retained elements of the true Church, but needed to fully commune with Rome to be complete. He helped lift up the good and re-order it to completion in the one true Church. This marked a positive change in tone and approach for Catholics while becoming a symbol of integrity in conversion to protestants - showing that one could be intellectually and spiritually honest in coming back to the Catholic faith.
Throughout his life, Saint John Henry Newman laid a faithful groundwork of intellectual and theological thought that has carried the Church through the last 150 years. For this contribution, he has been elevated to stand among the greats throughout our history as a Doctor of the Church.
The True Impact of a Saint
Something interesting to note is that his impact is far greater than we will ever know, as is the case with all our great saints who help present Christ anew in their day and age. The following true story highlights just how far a saint’s example can penetrate in bringing about conversion.
During Newman’s life a young hedonistic student at Oxford who was enamored with Newman’s prose began reading his works. This young man drank and led a sexually perverse lifestyle for most of his life ultimately landing him in prison, but he also wrote some of the best poetry and short stories the English language has to offer - full of profound religious and “Catholic” truths. His name is Oscar Wilde and many historians of Oscar Wilde attribute his deathbed conversion to Catholicism under the tutelage of a Passionist priest to be a fruit of his early readings and love of John Henry Newman, who coincidentally also converted through a Passionist priest.
Wilde’s conversion highlights two of the points above: conversion is deeply personal and we are all part of this living body - the Church! May Saint John Henry Newman, our new Doctor of the Church, bring us all into a deeper conversion to Christ through his Church.
God bless you!
The Cardinal Newman Collection
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