Outrage, a gay rights group in England, is protesting the move of Cardinal John Henry Newman from his resting place in a cemetery in Birmingham, England to the Oratory Church in the city.
The exhumation of Cardinal Newman's body was ordered by the Vatican so pilgrims might more easily venerate him during the process of his canonization for sainthood.
The 19th century churchman and theologian is currently being considered for beatification, the first step toward sainthood in the Catholic Church.
Peter Tatchell, the leader of Outrage, called the exhumation of Cardinal Newman's body an "act of grave-robbing, sacrilege and desecration." Tatchell and his radical group, over the years, have protested during the sermons of the Archbishop of Canterbury during Anglican services, illegally distributed pro-gay sexual education pamphlets in English elementary schools, and even interrupted an opera performance in the Royal Albert Hall to promote gay rights. This recent protest of the Catholic Church's decision about Cardinal Newman is just one more irrational attack upon those who disagree with the radical gay agenda of Outrage.
Tatchell suggests that Cardinal Newman, who is buried with his priest friend and confidant, Father Ambrose St. John, would not have wanted to be moved. He claims that Cardinal Newman was a "celibate homosexual” and the exhumation of his body would be contrary to his “expressed wishes to remain buried in the same grave as the man he loved.”
These outrageous suggestions were recently rebuked by Father Ian Kerr, the author of the definitive biography of Cardinal Newman, in an article in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. Father Kerr counters Tatchell’s claim that Cardinal Newman is presumed to be a homosexual because of his writings on the burden of celibacy. Father Kerr points to Newman's own writings about the sacrifice of celibacy which suggest that he was "speaking of marriage with a woman" when writing about the burdens of celibacy.
Cardinal Newman and Father St. John were buried together as priestly brothers largely because Father St. John served as an ardent supporter of Newman's theological works and a close advisor during the time of Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism. Peter Tatchell’s protests over the move of Newman's body and his lurid suggestions about his relationship with Father St. John hold little credence with those most familiar with the life and work of Cardinal Newman. Rather, Tatchell's rantings and ravings seem to be just another publicity stunt to promote his radical gay agenda. Let us join in prayer for the cause of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a saintly and holy priest, churchman and theologian. But let us likewise join in OUTRAGE at Peter Tatchell's shameful protest.
