The Birmingham Oratory publicised the theft on Sunday, saying the bone fragment had been taken from its casket in the Newman Shrine.

The fragment, some brass coffin handles and an inscription plate were the only remains found in Newman's grave when it was excavated in October 2008.

According to the Franciscan Media, Newman (21 February 1801 - 11 August 1890) "was the 19th-century's most important English-speaking Roman Catholic theologian.

"He spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and eminent theologian in both churches."

Newman was canonised last October.

The theft of Newman's remains is the latest in a spate of relic thefts in recent years.

In 2012, the heart of St Laurence O'Toole was stolen from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. It was discovered in a park six years later.

Five years later in 2017, Italian police recovered a piece of St John Bosco's brain that had been hidden in a teapot. They said that the thief had "erroneously" believed the gold-painted reliquary over the glass jar was worth a lot of money.

Source

• Catholic Herald
• franciscanmedia
• Image: The Catholic Register

This is certainly the case with Newman, a 19th-century English intellectual giant and Catholic priest who at the height of his very considerable public renown left a distinguished post at Oxford to start a school and work among the poor of Birmingham.

His groundbreaking theological and literary contributions led Pope Paul VI to call Vatican II "Newman's Council" and James Joyce to say that Newman was the finest English stylist of the 19th century.

Newman didn't write a theological treatise on conscience, but the theme played a prominent role in some of his greatest works — especially the Apologia Pro Vita Sua (his classic account of his conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism); Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent and Before Newman, the Catholic theological tradition affirmed a two-part, integrated understanding of conscience.

First, conscience referred to an inalienable and general human orientation to seek truth, do good and shun evil.

Second, conscience also referred to practical and specific moral judgments about something that has been done or is to be done.

Newman adapted this tradition in a distinctive way.

He recast the notion of conscience as a general orientation by emphasizing more the connection of conscience to freedom, responsibility and belief in God.

"Certainly, if I am obliged to bring religion into after-dinner toasts … I shall drink — to the Pope, if you please — still, to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards."

Newman found classic proofs for the existence of God to be wanting.

By contrast, his personalist and felt experience of conscience provided all the "proof" he needed.

He said of this experience: "When I obey it, I feel a satisfaction; when I disobey, a soreness — just like that I feel in pleasing or offending some revered friend.

The echo implies a voice, the voice a speaker.

That speaker I love and fear."

In turn, Newman connected the practical judgment of conscience to his vivid sense that, in concrete moral matters, there is always an exception to the rule.

Conservative Catholics have praised Newman's writing on conscience for its emphasis on truth: The truth that Newman found in becoming a Catholic and the truth that he fought to defend against the relativizing forces of 19th-century philosophical liberalism.

Similarly, conservatives have praised his rejection within the church of a singular reliance on what he called "private judgment" or conscience.

But this conservative appreciation of Newman has often overlooked how he situated conscience within a richly personalist, affective, social and historical world.

Indeed, he rejected a singular emphasis on a subjectivist, "private judgment."

But, at the same time, he affirmed an indispensable role for conscience in the life of the church when he said: "Catholic Christendom is no simple exhibition of religious absolutism, but presents a continuous picture of Authority and Private Judgment alternately advancing and retreating as the ebb and flow of the tide … ."

Here Newman anticipates a mutuality of which Francis has similarly said: "We should not even think, therefore, that 'thinking with the church' means only thinking with the hierarchy of the church….No; it is the experience of 'holy mother the hierarchical church' … the church as the people of God, pastors and people together."

Moreover, Newman's most famous statement on conscience — "Certainly, if I am obliged to bring religion into after-dinner toasts … I shall drink — to the Pope, if you please — still, to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards" — has found disfavor among Catholics favoring a strong role for the infallibility of the church and the pope. Continue reading

In the age when he lived, Newman stood for the life of the spirit against the forces that would debase human dignity and human destiny.

In the age in which he attains sainthood, his example is needed more than ever - for the manner in which, at his best, he could advocate without accusation, could disagree without disrespect and, perhaps most of all, could see differences as places of encounter rather than exclusion.

At a time when faith was being questioned as never before, Newman, one of the greatest theologians of the nineteenth century, applied his intellect to one of the most pressing questions of our era: what should be the relationship of faith to a sceptical, secular age?

His engagement first with Anglican theology, and then, after his conversion, Catholic theology, impressed even his opponents with its fearless honesty, its unsparing rigour and its originality of thought.

Whatever our own beliefs, and no matter what our own tradition may be, we can only be grateful to Newman for the gifts, rooted in his Catholic faith, which he shared with wider society: his intense and moving spiritual autobiography and his deeply-felt poetry in ‘The Dream of Gerontius' which, set to music by Sir Edward Elgar - another Catholic of whom all Britons can be proud - gave the musical world one of its most enduring choral masterpieces.

Harmony requires difference

At the climax of ‘The Dream of Gerontius' the soul, approaching heaven, perceives something of the divine vision:

• a grand mysterious harmony:
• It floods me, like the deep and solemn sound
• Of many waters.

Harmony requires difference. The concept rests at the very heart of Christian theology in the concept of the Trinity. In the same poem, Gerontius says:

• Firmly I believe and truly
• God is three, and God is One;

As such, difference is not to be feared. Newman not only proved this in his theology and illustrated it in his poetry, but he also demonstrated it in his life. Under his leadership, Catholics became fully part of the wider society, which itself thereby became all the richer as a community of communities.

Newman engaged not merely with the church, but with the world.

While wholeheartedly committed to the Church to which he came through so many intellectual and spiritual trials, he nonetheless initiated open debate between Catholics and other Christians, paving the way for later ecumenical dialogues.

On his elevation to the Cardinalate in 1879, he took as his motto Cor ad cor loquitor ('heart speaks to heart'), and his conversations across confessional, cultural, social and economic divides, were rooted in that intimate friendship with God.

His faith was truly catholic in that it embraced all aspects of life.

Immense influence

It is in that same spirit that we, whether we are Catholics or not, can, in the tradition of the Christian Church throughout the ages, embrace the unique perspective, the particular wisdom and insight, brought to our universal experience by this one individual soul.

We can draw inspiration from his writings and his life even as we recognise that, like all human lives, it was inevitably flawed.

Newman himself was aware of his failings, such as pride and defensiveness which fell short of his own ideals, but which, ultimately, left him only more grateful for the mercy of God.

His influence was immense.

As a theologian, his work on the development of doctrine showed that our understanding of God can grow over time, and had a profound impact on later thinkers.

Individual Christians have found their personal devotion challenged and strengthened by the importance he attached to the voice of conscience.

Those of all traditions who seek to define and defend Christianity have found themselves grateful for the way he reconciled faith and reason.

Those who seek the divine in what can seem like an increasingly hostile intellectual environment find in him a powerful ally who championed the individual conscience against an overwhelming relativism.

And perhaps most relevantly of all at this time, when we have witnessed too many grievous assaults by the forces of intolerance on communities and individuals, including many Catholics, because of their beliefs, he is a figure who stood for his convictions despite the disadvantages of belonging to a religion whose adherents were denied full participation in public life.

Through the whole process of Catholic emancipation and the restoration of the Catholic Church hierarchy, he was the leader his people, his church and his times needed.

His capacity for personal warmth and generous friendship is shown in his correspondence.

There exist over 30 collected volumes of his letters, many of which, tellingly, are not addressed to the fellow intellectuals and prominent leaders but to family, friends and parishioners who sought out his wisdom.

His example has left a lasting legacy.

As an educator, his work was profoundly influential in Oxford, Dublin and beyond, while his treatise, The Idea of a University, remains a defining text to this day.

His often overlooked labours on behalf of children's education are testimony to his commitment to ensuring those of all backgrounds shared the opportunities learning can bring.

Laity

As an Anglican, he guided that church back to its Catholic roots, and as a Catholic he was ready to learn from the Anglican tradition, such as in his promoting the role of the laity.

He gave the Catholic Church renewed confidence as it re-established itself in a land in which it had once been uprooted.

The Catholic community in Britain today owes an incalculable debt to his tireless work, even as British society has cause for gratitude to that community for its immeasurably valuable contribution to our country's life. Continue reading

• Image: BBC

He should rank alongside early Christianity's great thinkers, Cardinal Marc Ouellet says.

Ouellet, who is the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and a respected theologian, told the 20,000-strong crowd at the canonistaion that Newman is eligible for the title "Doctor".

This is because of his contribution to developing Christian teaching.

Doctors of the Church are saints who have helped deepen understanding of the faith.

Only 36 people (32 men and four women) have been granted this title in Christian history.

"It seems to me that the English master [Newman] ranks among such Doctors of the Faith as Athanasius and Augustine, whose lives were confessions of faith at the cost of great sacrifice, and who provided decisive insights on either its content or its act," Oullet said.

"The depth of this man of God and the place he now occupies in Catholicity, make us aware of the void his absence would have left if he had not been."

Oullet told the crowd Newman's legacy encourages the unity of Christians, in an "ecumenical impetus towards reconciliation".

A conversion is required "from all confessions, starting from the Roman Church, which must be open to eventual transformations that can clear the path towards unity, so desired by the Lord," he said.

Newman spent years as an Anglican priest and theologian where he became the leader of the Oxford movement, which sought to return the Church of England to its patristic sources.

"It is not a question of using Newman's figure to depict the return to the fold," Oullet said.

"Rather, his life and his theology challenge us to carefully examine the internal difficulties of reconciliation."

Newman saw faith as being an emotional "personal encounter," as well as "a rational adherence which involves a unique certainty as well as a non-delegable responsibility," Oullet said.

As a theeologian, scholar and poet, he was regarded as one of the most influential figures of the Victorian age.

He is still highly regarded in Rome for his prophetic theology which paved the way for the Second Vatican Council, in 1962-65.

His work on how the Church's understanding of divine revelation deepens over time and call for greater involvement of the laity saw him run into opposition in Rome during his lifetime. Today, his ideas are part of the Church's mainstream.

Prince Charles also spoke at the canonisation ceremony. He described Newman as a "fearless defender of the truth".

Source

• The Tablet
• The Guardian
• Image: The Irish Times

Not only did he live in a very different time, but his day-to-day existence was quite different from what most of us experience.

We should be careful, though, about being too quick to dismiss his example.

Newman, like all of the saints, is perennially relevant because holiness never goes out of style.

In light of his feast and in celebration of his canonization, here are five ways Newman remains relevant to the world today:

1. He prioritized the education of the lay faithful

   Throughout his life, Newman had a real concern for education.

   He thought it was particularly important that the lay faithful—not just clergy—have a strong understanding of the reasons the church taught what it did. Newman promoted various educational efforts, and this legacy has been preserved through his being named the patron saint of Catholic campus ministries at public universities.

   Thus, thousands, perhaps even millions of U.S. Catholics have experienced the formative years of their intellectual and spiritual development at Newman Centers on college campuses. When adult Catholics think about when they made a personal commitment to their faith—something beyond simply making their parents happy—their mind very likely turns to Newman.

2. He fostered community

   The generation of Americans who are coming of age now highly value community.

   Newman recognized that in the Christian faith, we need the support of others—not only to steer us away from erroneous ideas about God but also to sustain us through the difficult moments that inevitably come our way.

   He was celibate, but this does not mean that he was devoid of love. He developed several close friendships, and in his voluminous collection of letters (now digitally archived in the NINS Digital Collections), we can see just how significant these relationships were in his spiritual journey.

   For young Catholics, the communal life that Newman fostered is a shining example of the kind of shared witness that is sorely needed in our world today.

3. He stood up for the truth

   Newman wrote extensively about conscience—its role in our coming to know God as well as the moral imperative of listening to the promptings of conscience.

   As applied to his life, he firmly believed that he was bound in conscience to adhere to the truth regardless of the personal costs.

   For instance, when Newman, ordained an Anglican priest in 1825, became convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was founded by Christ as the ark of salvation, he felt compelled to enter that communion, even though this decision cost him close friendships and meant giving up his fellowship at Oxford. Continue reading

• Image: America

Her healing, which saved her life and the life of her unborn child, was accepted as the miracle needed for the 19th-century British cardinal's canonization.

Pope Francis announced July 1 that he will declare Blessed John Henry Newman a saint Oct. 13.

Coincidentally, the miracle accepted for his beatification in 2010 also involved someone from the United States: Deacon Jack Sullivan, 71, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, was healed of a several spinal condition in 2001.

Recounting her own story, Villalobos, 42, told Chicago Catholic that in 2011, "my husband brought home a couple of holy cards with Cardinal Newman's picture on them. I put one in the family room and one in our master bedroom."

"I would pass his picture in the house and I would say little prayers to him for whatever our family's needs were at the time — the children, my husband, myself.

"I really started to develop a very constant dialogue with him," said Villalobos, a mother of seven.

Her prayers had a miraculous result in 2013 when she started bleeding during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

At the time she had four children — ages 6, 5, 3 and 1 — and a previous pregnancy that had ended in miscarriage.

"When I went to the doctor, he did an ultrasound and he said the placenta had become partially detached from the uterine wall, so there was a hole in the placenta and that hole was allowing blood to escape," she said.

Villalobos also developed a subchorionic hematoma, which is a blood clot in the fetal membrane. It was two-and-a-half times the size of the baby.

The doctors recommended bed rest.

On Friday, May 10, 2013, Villalobos went to the emergency room because the bleeding was worse.

Again, the doctor recommended strict bed rest, which was difficult to imagine with four small children and a husband who had to work.

The doctor also told the couple that a miscarriage was likely, but if the baby survived the pregnancy, she would likely be born prematurely because she would be small.

Added to the stress was the fact that Villalobos' husband, David, had to leave for a mandatory business trip.

"Wednesday morning I woke up in bed in a pool of blood. My husband was already in an airplane on his way to Atlanta," Villalobos said.

She put off calling 911 because she didn't know who would care for the kids if she was taken in an ambulance to the hospital.

She made them breakfast and told them to stay put before going upstairs.

"Now the bleeding was really bad because I had just gone up the stairs, which I really shouldn't have done. I kind of collapsed on the bathroom floor out of weakness and desperation."

Villalobos laid there thinking she should now call 911, but she realized she didn't have her cellphone. She also knew the force of yelling for her kids would cause more damage and bleeding.

She was hoping one of her children would wander into her room so she could ask them for her phone to call 911, but they didn't. She heard nothing from her children and the silence made her even more worried.

With thoughts of losing her unborn baby, worry for her children downstairs and wondering if she could die, Villalobos uttered her fateful prayer.

"Then I said, ‘Please, Cardinal Newman, make the bleeding stop.' Those were my exact words. Just then, as soon as I finished the sentence, the bleeding stopped." Continue reading

• Image: Catholic Register