By Emmanuel Onwubiko
I have a fascinating affection
for the English people and substantially with the English language because of a
number of factors.
First, as someone who in his
early teens in the 1980's in the high school became fascinated about current
affairs and also as one of the well performing students of the English language
(forgive my sounding near-immodest) in our then modest public owned Kafanchan
teachers college and who incidentally was taught by mostly expatriate teachers,
I can say that I fell in love with anything English for so long. My romance
with the English has been a very prolonged experience.
To begin with, one amongst my
earliest ambitions in life was to become a journalist and a writer and since in
our peculiar environment the English language is the official language of
business and since politically Nigeria’s umbilical cord as a sovereign entity
was practically buried by the then English colonial masters, you can pardon me
if I tell you that I actually thought that the English language was the
official language spoken all around the world.
Childhood fantasy you may say!
It was not long after I met my
first English teacher in the high school who hailed from Philippines that I
then knew that there were other extensively spoken languages outside of the
English language given that over half of the populations of China numbering in
their billions are not required to speak or know the English language to attain
success in life.
But even after this
childhood’s baptism of cultural shock of knowing that the language spoken by
the native English people was not the only dominant world language, the undying
love in anything or most things English has never left me.
These fundamental facts are
behind my love for always spending yearly vacations in the United Kingdom in a
period spanning well over fifteen years and nearly two decades just as I can
state without equivocation that spending one’s vacation is in England stylishly
and rightly called Great Britain is worth experiencing especially if you live
in one of those dysfunctional societies, the type that Nigeria is.
The above factors perhaps are
the reasons for my excitement upon reading from the Holy father Pope Francis
few days back that he has set a time to canonize one of the most significant
figures of the 19th century Britain who rose to the phenomenal height of a
cardinal by name John Newman.
I must say that as an ardent
Roman catholic and a frequent reader of church publications- the genres that
emanate from the Vatican city, I was thrilled to read about the history that
would be made in the Vatican, the eternal city on October 13th 2019 which is
the date set by the Pope to canonize this English scholar who brought honor,
dignity, excellence and humanism to the life of evangelization. To me, Fulton
J. Sheen is perhaps the contemporary of this soon to be made a saint in the
area of enthusiastic evangelism (I may be wrong since I'm not a
Theologian).
I must also say that as one of
the nearly two billion Roman Catholics with the undying practice of veneration
of saints just like the large followership that global footballing icons enjoy,
the canonization of Cardinal John Newman is a period of deep reflection on how
humanity can once more transform the world to become a happy place. And surely,
I'm one of the numerous followers of this soon to be minted Saint.
As I tried to figure out how
to begin and end this brief intellectual reflection on the life and time of
cardinal John Newman, soon to be elevated saint born in England, the words of
another prominent theologian and church leader of our time cardinal Robert
Sarah came pouring out on to my subconscious.
He wrote and I quote: “Western
civilization is going through a lethal crisis…like at the time of the fall of
Rome, when the elites only cared about increasing the luxury of their daily
life, and the common people were anesthetized by increasingly vulgar
amusements.”
“The barbarians are no longer
at the city gates and beneath the ramparts; they are in positions of influence
and in government. They shape laws and public opinion, often animated by
genuine contempt for the weak and the poor”.
Robert Cardinal Sarah, one of
the most forceful traditional catholic scholars of our time, who is an African,
also reminded us thus: “In the 21st century, totalitarianism has a more
pernicious face. Its name is the idolatry of complete and absolute freedom,
manifested most aggressively in gender ideology and transhumanism”.
Earlier around June 2015, the
Holy father Pope Francis had echoed similar sentiments that were repeated by
Robert Cardinal Sarah, when he notes that the culture of consumption has led to
global warming.
In a powerfully worded
encyclical, as reported in the Los Angeles Times of June 18th 2015, the leader
of the Roman Catholic Church chastised those who would deny a human connection
to climate change. Francis declared that the planet was indeed growing warmer
and that the dangerous trend was due largely to a culture of instant
gratification.
Tragically, he said, people
have grown increasingly self-obsessed, ever more distant from nature and
alarmingly preoccupied with technological novelty.
“Doomsday predictions can no
longer be met with irony or disdain,” Francis wrote in the highly anticipated
encyclical, or teaching document, released Thursday. “We may well be leaving to
coming generations’ debris, desolation and filth. The pace of consumption,
waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our
contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate
catastrophes.”
At a Vatican news conference,
Cardinal Peter Turkson, who wrote a draft of the document, said humanity is
facing a “crucial challenge” that needs to be addressed through dialogue.
“For Pope Francis it is
imperative that practical proposals not be developed in an ideological,
superficial or reductionist way,” he said.
Metropolitan of Pergamon John
Zizioulas, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church,
said the environmental crisis was also a spiritual problem caused by the rise
of individualism and a greed for personal happiness.
He warned that it could leave
future generations to inherit a damaged world if not addressed.
“The pursuit of individual
happiness has been made into an ideal in our time,” he said. “Ecological sin is
due to human greed, which blinds men and women to the point of ignoring and
disregarding the basic truth that the happiness of the individual depends on
its relationship with the rest of human beings.”
There is a nexus between these
epochal thoughts and the life and times of Cardinal John Newman who will become
saint in a period when the issues of dehumanizing the World and checking global
warming have gained momentous interest.
The canonization of this 19th
century iconic English reverend gentleman who deployed his talents to try to
evangelize his large audiences on ways to make the world a better place for
humanity, would surely be a time for the church to once more remind the rest of
us what virtues that set saints apart from others even while they were
imperfect beings who lived in an imperfect world which has become much more imperfect
in our contemporary times.
The Telegraph of Britain wrote
a beautiful prose in the year 2011 on how to become a saint even as the writer
clearly spelt out that saints are not born but they are people who strove in
their lifetimes to be shining examples on how to humanize and transform the
human society to that of peace, harmony, love and social justice even amidst
the vicissitudes of life.
Most saints don't set out to
become a saint, instead they live a devoted Catholic life and spend their time
serving God and helping people in need. Eventually, their good deeds are
recognized after their death, and the Pope canonizes them, the newspaper
echoes.
However, The Telegraph stated
that there are a few things that must happen before anyone can become a saint.
These are; to become a saint you must first be a devoted Christian, ideally a
Catholic; you must lead a saintly life. This includes being selfless and
benevolent and an exemplary role model and teacher. It also involves loving and
serving God; you must perform at least two miracles. These are seen by the
Church as affirmations that you can in fact intervene on the part of humans,
and verifiable miracles are required for canonization; Hope for the best. After death, whether or
not you become a saint will be down to living bishops and Pope. They will wait
at least five years before beginning an analysis to make sure that your life on
earth was pure, virtuous, kind, prudent and devout and then get canonized.
The British Telegraph reminds
us rapidly that the Catholic Church has canonized around 3,000 people.
According to the church, the Pope does not make someone a saint - the
designation of sainthood only recognizes what God has already done.
The process of becoming a
Catholic saint is lengthy, often taking decades or centuries to complete.
Firstly, a local bishop
investigates the candidate's life and writings for evidence of heroic virtue.
The information uncovered by the bishop is sent to the Vatican.
Then a panel of theologians
and the cardinals of the Congregation for Cause of Saints evaluate the
candidate's life. If the panel approves, the Pope proclaims that the candidate
is venerable, which means that the person is a role model of Catholic virtues.
The next step toward sainthood
is beatification, which allows a person to be honored by a particular group or
region. In order to beatify a candidate, it must be shown that the person is
responsible for a posthumous miracle.
Martyrs - those who died for
their religious cause - can be beatified without evidence of a miracle. In
order for the candidate to be considered a saint, there must be proof of a
second posthumous miracle. If there is, the person is canonized.
It is clear that Cardinal John
Newman will be canonized in a ceremony in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City on
13 October, almost 130 years after he died. He will be the first English person
born since the 17th century to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church so
echoes a happy British tabloid.
Newman, the newspaper recalled
was ordained as a priest in the Church of England but converted to Catholicism
in 1845. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures from his era for
both Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism, revered for his hymns and poetry and
for his devotion to the people of Birmingham.
He was a powerful preacher and
founded the Birmingham Oratory religious community. When he died in 1890, more
than 15,000 people lined the city’s streets for his funeral procession.
Pope John Paul II declared
Newman “venerable” in 1991, recognizing his life of “heroic virtue”. In 2010,
on a visit to the UK, Pope Benedict XVI declared him “blessed”, saying Newman
applied “his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing
subjects of the day.” Newman continued “to inspire and enlighten many all over
the world,” Benedict added.
A second miracle attributed to
Newman – the healing in 2013 of a woman with life-threatening complications in
her pregnancy - was approved by Pope Francis this year, paving the way to his
canonization.
In 2008 a decision to move
Newman’s remains to a new tomb in Birmingham Oratory in preparation for his
canonization was criticized by the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and
others.
They argued that it contravened
his written wish to be buried next to his close friend Fr Ambrose St John. The
oratory said the order had come from the Vatican. Tatchell said it was “an act
of shameless dishonesty and personal betrayal by the homophobic Catholic
church”.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols,
archbishop of Westminster, said of Monday’s announcement: “This is a moment of
great pride … John Henry Newman is known for many great qualities, but we
remember him particularly for the kindness and compassion of his ministry to the
people of Birmingham.”
Christopher Foster, the
Anglican bishop of Portsmouth and co-chair of the English and Welsh
Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee, said: “The canonization of Blessed John
Henry Newman is very good news for the Catholic church in England and Wales,
and we give thanks with them for this recognition of a holy life formed in both
our communions that continues to be an inspiration for us all.”
Sally Axworthy, the British
ambassador to the Holy See, said: “Cardinal Newman had a major impact on
Catholic theology and on education worldwide, making him a truly global Briton.
He brought his experience from the Anglican church to his work as a Catholic,
bridging the two traditions.”
This event has generated huge
interest amongst British people and is sure to become one of the most
phenomenal events for lovers of great Saints like myself.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads Human
Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs
@www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwa@blogspot.com;
www.thenigerianinsidernews.com
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