This article does not take a firm stance on the question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic should be seen as a chastisement sent by God. If we were to follow John Henry Newman's lead, we would certainly have to remain open to that idea.
One of the most important turning points in John Henry Newman's life involved contracting an illness (probably typhoid fever) while on a trip to Sicily in 1833. Newman was accompanied on the trip by his best friend, Hurrell Froude, and Froude's father, Robert.
