The intersection of Catholicism and education raised important, yet controversial, questions and prompted many discussions in the nineteenth century. Increased freedoms for Catholics in England opened many educational, financial, and societal opportunities. They could attend prestigious universities and finish degrees without professing Protestant oaths or having religious examinations.
On 26 March 1825, John Henry Newman was appointed vice-principal of St. Alban Hall, Oxford. The position, which he held for a year, meant acting as tutor, chaplain, bursar, and dean of its dozen undergraduates, giving most of the lectures, setting weekly assignments, and dining with the students three times a week.
Laval’s originality lies in his reliance upon the catechists and treasurers he trained, which was the original reason for the pastoral success on Mauritius. Laval’s influence is evidenced by the 40,000 people who were drawn to his funeral in 1864. Through him and those who came to help him, the emancipated enslaved people discovered how much they were loved, and they responded to that love beyond all hope.
William Bernard Ullathorne (1806–1889) was a wise and humble man known for his devotion to the priests and nuns under his charge. Although he had a strong preference for monastic life, Ullathorne willingly served the church whenever he was called.
Newman, as an Anglican, had a high Mariology (for an Anglican, a surprisingly high Mariology), yet he also combined his reverence for Mary with some kind of caution or warning that such notions could lead to doctrines and practices that were not sanctioned by the Church of England. In reality, that caution (or warning) was both a message by Newman to his congregation and a message to himself—to a conscience that was beginning to doubt the veracity of his own ideas.
In 2004, German Catholic scholar Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz edited and published a posthumous edition of Ida Görres’ book on Newman, Der Geopferte: ein anderer Blick auf John Henry Newman, which Görres had originally written in the 1940s. In this interview, Jennifer Bryson asks Gerl-Falkovitz about the project and the knowledge gained in editing Görres' work. Bryson has published a new English translation of the book entitled John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed.
