Controversial plans to move the remains of Cardinal John Henry Newman have been abandoned after the attempted exhumation revealed that not much more than a brass plaque and tassels from his cardinal's hat are what survives in his grave. Newman's body was interred in 1890 in a wooden coffin, without the protection of a lead lining and, it's reported, in very damp ground.
The Vatican had obtained permission from the Justice Ministry to move the cardinal's remains to a church tomb in Birmingham Oratory in anticipation of his elevation to Sainthood. However, the plan has caused controversy because, according to his express wish, he's buried with his devoted partner of thirty years, Fr. Ambrose St.John.
Gay rights activist, Peter Tatchell, had petitioned the Minister for Justice, Jack Straw MP, to rescind the special license allowing the exhumation.
Speculation as to the precise nature of Newman's relationship with Father Ambrose has long been a source of embarrassment to the Vatican, but, as Tatchell argues, "Although we cannot know for certain, it is not unreasonable to believe that Cardinal Newman could have had a loving, long-term same-sex relationship with the man whose grave he shares. The passion of his letters and writings about Father Ambrose suggest this possibility."
Following the death of the priest with whom he shared the same house, Newman wrote: "I have ever thought no bereavement was equal to that of a husband's or a wife's, but I feel it difficult to believe that any can be greater, or anyone's sorrow greater, than mine."
Before his own passing in 1890, Newman stated: "I wish, with all my heart, to be buried in Fr Ambrose St John's grave - and I give this as my last, my imperative will. This I confirm and insist on."
"There is little doubt that Newman and St John were mentally and spiritually in love; sharing a deep bond and intense relationship. They were inseparable; living together for over 30 years, like a married husband and wife," Tatchell writes on his website.
The Vatican had also intended to remove portions of the remains for distribution as holy relics. LG
EDITOR'S COMMENT: There is something more than a little medieval about the Vatican's pursuit of new saints and idols, especially when it comes down to questions of exhumation and reliquary. Or indeed for that matter, homosexuality. While Cardinal Newman was a self-declared celibate his relationship with Father Ambrose can hardly be regarded now as anything less than homosexual. The absence of any sexual dynamic between the two men doesn't change that perception either.
These circumstances have always been a source of unease for the Vatican and they have gone to considerable lengths of enquiry to establish the opposite. Whatever the truths may be, it seems cavalier and imperious that the church here has been prepared to contradict the final and earnest wishes of Cardinal Newman and desecrate his, and Fr.Ambrose's grave, in the process.
That there's nothing remaining of the remains strikes a note of poetic justice and we must trust the Church now rededicates the grave they have so rudely disturbed.
The Vatican had obtained permission from the Justice Ministry to move the cardinal's remains to a church tomb in Birmingham Oratory in anticipation of his elevation to Sainthood. However, the plan has caused controversy because, according to his express wish, he's buried with his devoted partner of thirty years, Fr. Ambrose St.John.
Gay rights activist, Peter Tatchell, had petitioned the Minister for Justice, Jack Straw MP, to rescind the special license allowing the exhumation.
Speculation as to the precise nature of Newman's relationship with Father Ambrose has long been a source of embarrassment to the Vatican, but, as Tatchell argues, "Although we cannot know for certain, it is not unreasonable to believe that Cardinal Newman could have had a loving, long-term same-sex relationship with the man whose grave he shares. The passion of his letters and writings about Father Ambrose suggest this possibility."
Following the death of the priest with whom he shared the same house, Newman wrote: "I have ever thought no bereavement was equal to that of a husband's or a wife's, but I feel it difficult to believe that any can be greater, or anyone's sorrow greater, than mine."
Before his own passing in 1890, Newman stated: "I wish, with all my heart, to be buried in Fr Ambrose St John's grave - and I give this as my last, my imperative will. This I confirm and insist on."
"There is little doubt that Newman and St John were mentally and spiritually in love; sharing a deep bond and intense relationship. They were inseparable; living together for over 30 years, like a married husband and wife," Tatchell writes on his website.
The Vatican had also intended to remove portions of the remains for distribution as holy relics. LG
EDITOR'S COMMENT: There is something more than a little medieval about the Vatican's pursuit of new saints and idols, especially when it comes down to questions of exhumation and reliquary. Or indeed for that matter, homosexuality. While Cardinal Newman was a self-declared celibate his relationship with Father Ambrose can hardly be regarded now as anything less than homosexual. The absence of any sexual dynamic between the two men doesn't change that perception either.
These circumstances have always been a source of unease for the Vatican and they have gone to considerable lengths of enquiry to establish the opposite. Whatever the truths may be, it seems cavalier and imperious that the church here has been prepared to contradict the final and earnest wishes of Cardinal Newman and desecrate his, and Fr.Ambrose's grave, in the process.
That there's nothing remaining of the remains strikes a note of poetic justice and we must trust the Church now rededicates the grave they have so rudely disturbed.
