By Fr Brian O’Connell
One of the key facts about Newman is that he and his close friends tried to reform the Church they loved viz. the Protestant Church of England. The men of the Oxford Movement longed for a church purified and true to Antiquity. And in doing so, Newman is a model for all who would seek to reform their religion.
Every Christian church, in particular the Catholic Church, is always in need of reform, simply because it is a refuge of sinners, a human society that claims to be of divine origin. It is a first principle that the church is ‘ecclesia semper reformanda’ – always needing reform. However anyone who sets out to reshape the church ought to be aware of the pitfalls, and here Newman is an excellent example.
He lays down as a first principle that the reformer should love the church, deeply and comprehensively, and not nurture in their heart a secret aversion for any part of the church. Secondly the reformer ought accept absolutely that the time may not be right for their particular insight. They ought to be ready to let their passion go if the Holy Spirit does not move the hearts of the leaders to go along with this change.
I have seen a lot of ‘would-be’ reformers come and go. One controversial priest came and stayed at the religious house where I was superior. He had inspirational ideas, and hundreds attended his sessions. But I noticed in his private conversations that he had a strong aversion, even contempt, for Rome, and remember thinking he would not win over anyone in authority. His order under pressure from Rome eventually silenced him for 6 months. On the day his ban expired he published an article beginning: “As I was saying when rudely interrupted…” He eventually left the Catholic church and became an Episcopalian priest. He has since continued to write, and history will judge his contribution. I lost at least one life-long friend for simply letting him stay in our house.
Newman insisted that even when the church later adopted some of the ideas of the reformer, it was still right to stop the reformer when the time was not opportune, presumably because of possible harm that could be done.
Reforming the Church is the responsibility of all the baptised. Newman put great emphasis on the sensus fidelium ‘the sense of the faithful’ and their role. Some of the most effective instruments of renewal last century like The Beatititudes Community and Sant’Egidio were founded by laypeople; but if any of the reforms are going to stick, it will be up to the Bishops to get their houses in order. Recent crises show how far short some Bishops have come.
The church is a refuge of sinners from the Pope to the humblest believer, and is always in need of reform. The task of renewing the church is the task of all of us.The role of the Faithful lay people will continue to be central ,as Newman wrote “The voice of the whole church will in time make itself heard”.
