Cardinal NewmanJack Valero is known for quite a few tasks. For example, he is spokesman for Opus Dei in the United Kingdom and founder of Catholic Voices, a faith communication project that has provided training in more than 25 countries. A major leap to greater public notoriety, especially in other countries, came when he was the spokesman for the beatification of Cardinal Newman in London by Benedict XVI, and also for his canonization in Rome by Pope Francis in 2019.
In the interview with Omnes, Jack Valero explains, among other things, why he has called St. John Henry Newman "the saint of friendship"; asserts that he has much to say to the 21st century; and states that he finds him "a very appropriate saint for the Synod Assembly, both so that we are not afraid to address any issues that come up, but also to always study those issues in the light of the Church's doctrine. In this age of increasing polarization, I like to think that Newman is a saint for all tastes, and not because we take him superficially, but because he always has something important to contribute." Let's get to the questions and answers.
Pope Francis canonized Cardinal John Henry Newman in 2019, and Benedict XVI had beatified him in 2010, in London. What would you highlight from the Popes' words?
-They were two memorable occasions with much to comment on, but I noticed a clear point of connection. Benedict XVI commented on one of Newman's most famous texts; that each person has been created by God for a specific, unique purpose. "I have my mission," Newman wrote, "I am a link in a chain, a bond of union between persons." The Pope FrancisOn the other hand, he quoted a text in which Newman explains that the Christian has a deep, silent, hidden peace that the world does not see. In both cases, they emphasized the impact that every Christian can have around him with his daily life, as Newman himself had.
You played a relevant role in Newman's cause, and you have defined him as "the saint of friendship". Can you comment on this?
-One interesting thing about Newman is the number of friends he had in his life. When he was dying he told his brothers in Oratory to bury him with the handkerchief he wore around his neck, which had been given to him by a beggar he met at the door of the church where he celebrated Mass. Shortly before he had received from Prime Minister Gladstone a lamp for his writing table as the Prime Minister was concerned that with age Newman's eyesight was failing. He was a man capable of being a friend to beggars and ministers. When he died, more than 15,000 people filled the streets of Birmingham and most had not read any of his books. Moreover, Newman believed that friendship is the best way to transmit the gospel, from friend to friend, "cor ad cor loquitur" (one heart talking to another) as his cardinal's motto says.
In this sense, he also said that Newman has much to say to the world of the 21st century, and referred to being consistent Christians and the role of the laity in the Church.
-In preparation for the canonization, we studied where Newman's thought or action connected with the concerns of people in the 21st century. We concluded with a list of 9 themes. One of them is friendship, as I just mentioned.
Another was the role of the laity, where their vision was very advanced for their time. It must be remembered that after 300 years of persecution and discrimination, the Catholic laity were not educated in the elite institutions where the leaders of the country and the colonies of the time were formed, nor in university education or even in high schools open to Catholics. Newman understood that it was necessary to form the laity as well as possible, both for their role in the church and to transform the world.
One of his most famous quotes is undoubtedly: "I want a laity that is neither arrogant nor imprudent in speaking, nor rowdy, but men who know their religion well, who go deep into it, who know well where they stand, who know what they have and what they do not have, who know their creed to such an extent that they can give an account of it, who know history so well that they can defend it".
These ideas of giving in-depth formation to the laity so that they can undertake evangelization projects on their own would not become a reality until a hundred years later, with new ecclesial realities that emphasize the importance of the role of the laity and with the Second Vatican Council.
In the Synod assembly there are voices of different styles. Can you tell us something about the ecclesial communion in Newman?
-One thing that struck me in my work preparing for the canonization was the fact that Newman appeals to all kinds of Catholics. Some because he is not afraid to tackle any subject, no matter how complex. Others because he always deals with it in a way that is totally in line with Church doctrine. He seems to me to be a very appropriate saint for the Synod assembly, both so that we are not afraid to address any topic that comes up and to always study those topics in the light of the Church's doctrine.
In this age of increasing polarization, I like to think that Newman is a saint for all tastes, and not because we take him superficially, but because he always has something important to contribute.
What would you stress about Newman's search for truth and conversion, and other conversions?
-Truly, Newman's life is the story of his search for truth, already at a very young age, with integrity. Within the theme of truth, it is worth noting his teachings on conscience, which have become the basis for what the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church says on this subject.
An important moment in his life is when, just after the end of the First Vatican Council, former Prime Minister Gladstone writes that now that the infallibility of the Pope has been proclaimed, Catholics are not fit for public life, since they should follow the Vatican's indications without further ado. Newman offers to answer the controversy and writes a 60-page pamphlet entitled "Letter to the Duke of Norfolk". In that letter he explains that Catholics do not follow the Pope blindly but follow their conscience, which is the voice of God within each person.
Distinguishing clearly between the voice of God, and the tastes or opinions of the individual, he explains how far from being incapable of contributing to public life, they might in fact be the fittest to do so if they follow their conscience. In the rest of the pamphlet he very aptly interprets the teachings of the 19th century pontiffs to the liberal and secularized UK public of the time.
Interesting is the reference to Newman by the atheist writer Aldous Huxley, in his dystopian novel "Brave New World" (1932). There he describes a world in which human beings are manufactured, live constantly drugged and are not allowed to think for themselves. Towards the end of the book, the world controller Mustapha Mond explains to the hero of the novel that he has locked up certain books because they are dangerous, as they make people think. He shows him spiritual and literary classics such as the Bible and Shakespeare, but among them are also some writings of Cardinal Newman, already then considered dangerous and subversive to the established order.
Newman's teachings have also been the basis for the political action of many people, including the anti-Nazi White Rose resistance organized by Hans and Sophie Scholl and their friends in Munich in the early 1940s. Newman's works, newly translated into German, inspired these students to give their lives for the truth. Many politicians and people in public life today acknowledge the help Newman's teachings on conscience and integrity have given them.
It is claimed that Newman lost friends and social prestige with his conversion, but opened the door to celebrities such as Wilde, Benson, Chesterton.....
-Newman had many friends in the different periods of his life. However, his conversion in 1845 meant the loss of almost all his friendships and social prestige. Those Anglican friends with whom he had spent many hours talking about religious matters stopped speaking to him. Also members of his family parted from him (a sister of his no longer spoke to him for the rest of his life).
In 1864, when he was accused of being a fraud and of having been a Catholic in disguise to make converts in the Anglican Church, he defends himself by writing a spiritual autobiography based on letters and other documents he had written in the years prior to his conversion. The book is published under the title "Apologia pro vita sua" and goes a long way toward helping him to be understood by his contemporaries. A few years later, Trinity College accepts him back as a Fellow and begins to recover some of those friendships of thirty and forty years ago.
His conversion cost him much socially, as he lost everything, only to regain it little by little. However, his patient work over the years was essential in changing public opinion about conversion to Catholicism in England. By the time of his death in 1890, the landscape had changed completely, and in many ways thanks to his witness and life. In the first half of the 20th century there is a whole series of well-known converts to Catholicism in England, such as Oscar Wilde, Robert Hugh Benson, G. K. Chesterton, Graham Greene... who found the open door thanks to Newman.
Can you remember the miracle of his canonization? Melissa Villalobos, an American lawyer living in Chicago, and her daughter Gemma.
-It is very good to see how devotion to Newman spread throughout the world in the second half of the 20th century, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. In fact, both the miracle for the beatification (a permanent deacon in Boston who is cured of a spinal disease) and the one for the canonization (a mother in Chicago) occurred in the United States.
Melissa Villalobos is the mother of seven children. The miracle has to do with the pregnancy and birth of her fifth daughter, Gemma. The pregnancy was complicated by internal bleeding in the placenta to such an extent that one day she began to bleed non-stop when she was locked in the bathroom without access to her cell phone. She feared, first for the life of the baby she was carrying, and then for her own with such blood loss.
At that point he invoked Blessed John Henry, saying, "Please, Cardinal Newman, make the bleeding stop!" As soon as he finished the sentence, the bleeding stopped. That same day on a visit to the doctor, he confirmed with an ultrasound that Melissa had been inexplicably cured of her illness, and that her placenta was no longer torn. The hemorrhage did not recur. Gemma was born normally, as were two more children. It was a great joy that Melissa and her husband, along with their seven children, were able to attend the canonization in Rome, and greet the Holy Father.
The then Prince Charles, now King Charles III, praised Newman at his canonization as "a great Briton, a great man of the Church, and now, a great saint." Any comments?
-I was fortunate to be able to greet the then Prince Charles after the canonization ceremony and he told me that Newman was very important for the country and not only for Catholics. The presence of the prince at the ceremony really emphasized that, as did the article he himself wrote in "The Times" and "Osservatore Romano" on the occasion of that event, entitled "John Henry Newman, a man for his time and for ours".
After commenting on how Newman can be a rallying point for different Christians, he says in his article that "those who seek to define and defend Christianity are grateful for the way he reconciled faith and reason. Those who seek God despite overwhelming secularism and relativism find in him a powerful ally. Many Christians find in him a constant inspiration for personal devotion. And in his own time, countless people, rich and poor, who sought his counsel and help, found in him a friend."
Another topic. You are the founder of Catholic Voices, what is the main objective of Catholic Voices and how is it developing in the aftermath of the pandemic??
-Catholic Voices is a communication project that we started in 2010 with some friends in London in preparation for Pope Benedict's visit to the United Kingdom to beatify Cardinal Newman. The visit became controversial because some British intellectuals did not want the Pope to come, or at least the State did not want to pay for the visit. This caused media such as the BBC and other television and radio stations to be very interested in the subject. Seeing that there were few Catholics prepared to speak in the media, we initiated a program to train lay people in communicating the faith on controversial issues. In the end, Pope Benedict's visit was a great success and we were also able to contribute to its success, appearing on over 100 television and radio programs in those days.
In the following years, the idea was copied in other places and in the period 2011-18 specific groups were formed in some 25 countries. Some of them continue their work with the media, but others are dedicated to the formation of lay people to be able to communicate well in their own environments. The project book, "How to defend the faith without raising your voice."has already been published in six languages. There are also online courses. In Spanish there is the Austral University in Buenos Aires, which lasts 56 hours and has been published for many editions, and another shorter one (about 7 hours) with Catholic Linkwhich was launched in 2022.
Controversial issues (gender theory, homosexuality, marriage, abortion, euthanasia, immigration...) continue to come up in public opinion and we at Catholic Voices want to continue to help ordinary Catholics talk with confidence and love about all of them with their family, colleagues and friends.
