On September 16th Pope Benedict XVI will travel from Rome to Edinburgh to begin his State Visit to Scotland and England and will be greeted by Her Majesty The Queen at Holyrood Palace. This will be a truly historic and spiritual moment. The late Holy Father, John Paul II, made a Pastoral Visit to England but this will be the first ever State Visit by a Pope. Many of us can recall the hope that the visit of John Paul II gave to those of us who longed for a healing of the breach made at the Henrician Schism in England. To see the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury kneeling together in prayer in Canterbury Cathedral was a sign of much prayed for and longed for possible reconciliation.
Unfortunately that hope has been shattered by the persistent and determined taking of unorthodox decisions by the General Synod of the Church of England and the actions of individual Provinces of the Anglican “Communion.” And yet this visit once again fills many of us with hope. Yet there will be certain elements that will decry this State Visit and among them will be some extreme protest-ants who continue to peddle bigotry and hatred toward Roman Catholic Christians. So why should this visit be a source of hope?
It is a sign of hope in no small part because one thing the Holy Father will come to do is to beatify John Henry, Cardinal Newman whose holiness and learning both as an Anglican and Roman Catholic Priest is renowned, especially his teaching on ‘Conscience.’ We live in an age where there has been a continued onslaught which has weakened our hard-fought for right to obey our conscience. In part it seems likely that the Holy Father will remind us of this and a timely reminder it will be. Please pray for him.
“We may silence it, disobey it, and refuse to use it, but it remains. Conscience is the voice of God within us, alerting us to God’s presence with us.”
Cardinal Newman
Unfortunately that hope has been shattered by the persistent and determined taking of unorthodox decisions by the General Synod of the Church of England and the actions of individual Provinces of the Anglican “Communion.” And yet this visit once again fills many of us with hope. Yet there will be certain elements that will decry this State Visit and among them will be some extreme protest-ants who continue to peddle bigotry and hatred toward Roman Catholic Christians. So why should this visit be a source of hope?
It is a sign of hope in no small part because one thing the Holy Father will come to do is to beatify John Henry, Cardinal Newman whose holiness and learning both as an Anglican and Roman Catholic Priest is renowned, especially his teaching on ‘Conscience.’ We live in an age where there has been a continued onslaught which has weakened our hard-fought for right to obey our conscience. In part it seems likely that the Holy Father will remind us of this and a timely reminder it will be. Please pray for him.
“We may silence it, disobey it, and refuse to use it, but it remains. Conscience is the voice of God within us, alerting us to God’s presence with us.”
Cardinal Newman
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