The Most Dangerous Man

One of the many puzzles in the life of that puzzling prelate, Cardinal Newman, is the fact that his great work of self-revelation and Catholic defense, the Apologia Pro Vita Sua, was called forth by a rather petty attack. Charles Kingsley said Newman taught that lying is sometimes justifiable; and, before Kingsley knew what had hit him, he was receiving an intimate account of Newman’s entire life, a detailed discussion of the Catholic Church, and a masterpiece of English literature, all in one explosive package, the Apologia. It was fair for Kingsley to ask what relevance all this had to his original charge, and it is not surprising that some critics think Newman’s punishment was out of all proportion to the offense. It is as if Marx had written Das Kapital because the local delicatessen had cheated him.

On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, by John Henry Newman. Sheed and Ward, $3.00

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Garry Wills

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One of the many puzzles in the life of that puzzling prelate, Cardinal Newman, is the fact that his great work of self-revelation and Catholic defense, the Apologia Pro Vita Sua, was called forth by a rather petty attack. Charles Kingsley said Newman taught that lying is sometimes justifiable; and, before Kingsley knew what had hit him, he was receiving an intimate account of Newman’s entire life, a detailed discussion of the Catholic Church, and a masterpiece of English literature, all in one explosive package, the Apologia. It was fair for Kingsley to ask what relevance all this had to his original charge, and it is not surprising that some critics think Newman’s punishment was out of all proportion to the offense. It is as if Marx had written Das Kapital because the local delicatessen had cheated him.

On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, by John Henry Newman. Sheed and Ward, $3.00