Pope cover up of gay Cardinal Newman
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Letters reveal Newman loved Father Ambrose St. John
"He was my earthly light...I was his first and last," wrote Newman
London – 16 September 2010
This
Sunday, Pope Benedict will beatify the nineteenth century English
theologian, Cardinal John Henry Newman, while denying the strong
evidence that Newman was gay and loved Father Ambrose St John.
Beatification is a major Catholic ritual; the first step to eventual sainthood.
“Newman and St John were mentally and spiritually in love; sharing a
long-term same-sex relationship. They were inseparable. They lived
together for over 30 years, like a married husband and wife,” said
human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who has studied the evidence of
Newman’s homosexual orientation.
See here:
http://z6.co.uk/dwpk3z
“Newman wrote in his diary about Ambrose's love for him: ‘From the
first he loved me with an intensity of love, which was unaccountable.’
He later added: ‘As far as this world was concerned, I was his first
and last,’” added Mr Tatchell.
“Newman also stated that St John had come to him as the angel Raphael came to Tobias, as Ruth to Naomi.
“Reflecting on St John's death, Newman stated: ‘This is the greatest affliction I have had in my life….he was my earthly light.’
“Newman and St John were buried side-by-side in the same grave when
Newman died in 1890. It was what Newman wanted. He wrote to his
executors shortly before his death stating emphatically: ‘I wish, with
all my heart, to be buried in Father Ambrose St John's grave – and I
give this as my last, my imperative will.’
“It is impossible to know whether the relationship between Newman and
St John involved a sexual dimension. Equally, it is impossible to be
certain that it did not. There is no proof that Newman was heterosexual
or that he abstained from sex. The Pope cannot substantiate these
claims.
“To err on the side of caution, it is likely that both men had a gay
orientation but chose to abstain from sex. Sexual abstinence does not,
however, alter a person's orientation. A person can be gay and
sublimate their gayness into spiritual and other non-sexual relations
and pursuits.
“Ahead of making Newman a saint, the Vatican has sought to suppress
knowledge of Newman’s relationship with St John. Last year, against
Newman’s wishes, it ordered that his grave be dug up, in order to
separate the two men and to turn Newman’s bones into holy relics.
However, the grave was empty. His remains had fully decomposed. The
Vatican’s heartless plans were thwarted by nature.
“This homophobic desecration of Newman’s grave and the denial of
Newman’s gayness is entirely consistent with the Vatican’s
long-standing cover up of its many past and present gay priests,
bishops, cardinals and popes. Pope Benedict has a well-known anti-gay
agenda. He is too bigoted to concede that Newman loved a man.
“Newman was, of course, unaware that he might one day achieve
sainthood. But he was mindful that the church might, after his death,
seek to intervene in determining the placement of his remains. Although
a modest man, he was conscious of his international status as a
Cardinal and an esteemed Catholic theologian. He feared there might be
attempts after he died to transfer his body to a mausoleum. That is why
Newman three times added notes to his instructions to his executors
which, according to the scholarship of the Christian historian Alan
Bray, variously “confirm”, “insist” and “command” that he be buried
with St John.
http://z6.co.uk/avtpyq
“Nothing could be clearer. Newman was absolutely insistent that should
be buried forever alongside the man with whom he shared his life, home
and love.
“The Pope’s spin doctors have gone out of their way to rubbish claims
that Newman was gay. He was a cardinal and deeply devout, they say;
claiming that such a person would never have a gay relationship. This
is nonsense. Thousands of Catholic priests, and even some bishops and
cardinals, are gay and have active same-sex relationships.
“The Catholic hierarchy denies the Newman's homosexuality in the same
way that it denies the existence of thousands of gay clerics and in the
same way that it has lied about sex abusing priests and has covered up
their crimes against children.
“The Vatican is well known for lying and suppressing the truth. It
lied, for example, in its anti-safe sex propaganda which claimed that
condoms have tiny holes through which the HIV virus can pass.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/09/aids
“The lies and denials about Newman should be treated with the same contempt.
“Although we cannot know for certain, it is not unreasonable to believe
that Cardinal Newman might have had a loving, stable, long-term
same-sex relationship. The passion of his letters and writings about
Ambrose suggest this possibility.
“Down the ages, lots of clergy have had gay relationships. Indeed, at
least a quarter of the current Catholic priesthood is estimated to be
gay. Many are in long-term gay relationships. Why should anyone be
surprised by the suggestion that Cardinal Newman might have had a
same-sex relationship? It would not be extraordinary. It is fairly
normal in the priesthood.
“Newman was not exactly macho. His soft, gentle, effeminate demeanour
is typical of what we often associate with some gay men (and some
straight men too). There were allegations during his lifetime about his
circle of young homosexual friends. Platonic relations and close
friendships with women did not feature at all in his life,” said Mr
Tatchell.
Perhaps we should look to Newman's memorial stone at Birmingham Oratory
for clues. It has an inscription that could be read as a posthumous
coming out concerning their relationship:
“Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem” (from shadow and images into truth)
Some people say that Newman’s body lying in a grave with the body of
Father Ambrose reveals the truth about their love and relationship.