The former Anglican clergyman John Henry Newman has moved a step closer to sainthood after the Holy See recognised a cure of a back disorder as a miracle. Cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have attributed the recovery of Jack Sullivan, a permanent deacon in the US, from a spinal disorder to Newman, who was made a cardinal after he left the Church of England and became a Roman Catholic in the mid-19th century.
The approval of the miracle means that the path is now clear for Newman to be beatified. He will require another miracle before he can be made a saint.
The beatification ceremony is expected to be in Rome or in Britain later this year or early next year. If Rome decides to hold the ceremony in Britain, it could be the “peg” for a visit to Britain by Pope Benedict XVI.
The congregation, which approved the miracle at their meeting in Rome this month, is now drawing up a “life” of Newman, after which the Pope is expected to sign a “decree” authorising the miracle.
Ten or 15 days after he has done this, the Holy See will make the official announcement.
Mr Sullivan told The Times: “When I first learnt of the favourable recommendation of the cardinals and bishops comprising the congregation for the Causes of Saints, I felt a sense of awe and immense gratitude to God and Cardinal Newman.
“If it wasn’t for Cardinal Newman’s intercession when experiencing extremely severe spinal problems, it would have been virtually impossible to complete my diaconate formation and be ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston. Nor would I have been able to continue in my chosen profession as a magistrate in our court system to support my family.
“My fervent desire to give all that I have in my parish ministry at both St Thecla’s parish in Pembroke, Massachusetts, and my prison ministry at the House of Correction in Plymouth, Massachusetts, best expresses the intense appreciation I have for God’s gift and Cardinal Newman, who directs my efforts.
“I have developed a very real relationship with Cardinal Newman in frequent prayer and I try to pass on what marvellous gifts I have received to those I meet.
“Secondly, when receiving the news, I felt a very deep sense of the reality of God’s love for each one of us, especially during times of immense difficulties and suffering.”
Sullivan continued: “I realise that indeed there is such a thing as the Communion of Saints and a place of perfect peace which God has prepared for each one of us. As the kindly light of truth guided the life of Newman amidst unspeakable challenges in his world, so too I feel the same sense of direction when reflecting on these awesome gifts by realising that God dispenses His favour especially on the lowly and those who are ordinary as beautifully described in our Lady’s praises in her Magnificat.”
Doctors on the commission appointed by the Congregation to examine the miracle voted unanimously in April that there was no medical explanation for the cure.
Pope Benedict has been interested in Newman since a young man and has followed the progress of the cause closely.
Recently Cardinal John Foley, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, said that Newman was “an outstanding figure” who was a guide for the whole Church.
Cardinal Foley, a former head of the Holy See’s Council for Social Communications, said: “Cardinal Newman believed that Faith and reason were compatible and complementary. I, too, believe that effective apologetics — the explanation of our Catholic faith to the modern world — has to be based on reason. God gave us reason, but he also gave us revelation, and revelation doesn’t contradict reason but rather completes it. This is central, too, in the theology of Pope Benedict XVI.”
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