Real Catholic Blog

The announcement last week that the Holy See will set into motion a constitution for the acceptance of Anglican and Episcopal laity and clergy into the Church has been the buzz of church goers and secular media alike. There is some confusion, especially regarding the acceptance of marriage Anglican clergy as Catholic priests. Here is a video from the Vatican that offers some guidance into how the Vatican will proceed.

Cardinal Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, during the Holy See’s Press Conference on Tuesday, October 20. Anglicans approached the Vatican; now the Vatican wants to unify this protestant denomination to the Church, as per Vatican II. 

UPDATED 9/14/09

Cardinal John Henry Newman is set to be beatified in the near future now that the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, officially has recognized a miracle attributed to Cardinal Newman’s intercession. The approved miracle was the inexplicable cure of a spinal condition suffered by permanent Deacon Jack Sullivan of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Deacon Sulllivan prayed daily for the intercession of Cardinal Newman for the Lord to relieve him of his debilitating ailment and intense pain, which had him hunched over and unable to read and study for his deaconate classes. When he was relieved of his disability, a team of medical doctors found no plausible human medical cure was responsible. 

Beatification is the step that precedes canonization. The candidate for sainthood can be beatified in his diocese.

From RomeReports.com/YouTube.com:

Cardinal John Henry Newman was an Anglican presbyter who converted to Catholicism in 1845. He was one of the most important figures of the Oxford movement that advocated for the Church of England’s return to its Catholic roots.

One of his biggest admirers is Benedict XVI, who during his years in the seminary, studied Newman’s life and writings.

The date for Cardinal Newman’s beatification is undecided, but may be celebrated next year in Rome or London, the cardinal’s place of birth.

From Catholic News Agency Television/YouTube.com:

Cardinal Newman, an English convert to Catholicism, tried to reconcile the Church of England to the Church of Rome. As a seminarian, Pope Benedict XVI studied Cardinal Newman’s life and writings. Now he will beatify him, probably in early 2010.

From RomeReports.com/YouTube.com

An American Deacon, Jack Sullivan, sought Cardinal Newman’s intercession for the healing of a serious spinal ailment that would have kept him from finishing his deaconate classed and eventual ordination.