John Henry Newman

Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonized Oct. 13 in Rome, with many leaders of British church and state in attendance. Catholic prelates spoke to NCR about the timely importance of the new saint.

Distinctly Catholic: How large is Newman in the landscape of Catholicism? The return to the sources in mid-20th-century theology could have happened in any one of a dozen different ways, but one of the principal ways that it did occur was through his pen.

When the convert-cardinal, Blessed John Henry Newman, is canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, it will be the culmination of a remarkable religious odyssey stretching back over two centuries.

Distinctly Catholic: Whether the issue is reparations or the Bladensburg Cross, the desire to rummage around the past, with no sense of how culture has changed in the meantime, is ill-advised. Healthy political parties and cultural institutions seek converts, and unhealthy ones seek heretics.

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Napa Institute invites the who's who of Francis critics; the left's identity politics fixation; evangelicals and Trump.

Faith Seeking Understanding: The ongoing presence and action of the Holy Spirit should be the founding principle of how we think of the church. But the actions of many church leaders suggest instead an attitude of "it's all up to me." 

Commentary: The plenary process is revealing manifest bad faith as bishops maneuver to avoid reform. There's danger of dissipating whatever trust is left among the Australian faithful.

Pope Francis has signed a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed John Henry Newman, the English cardinal, clearing the way for his canonization.