by J. DEREK HOLMES
The Letters and Diaries of John henry Newman edited by C. S. Dessain and Thomas Gornall, Si. Volume XXIX: The Cardinalate. Volume XXX: A Cardinal's Apostolate (Clarendon Press £17.50 each)
These two latest volumes of Newman's Letters and Diaries are surely among the most interesting of those published to date. Volume XXIX is largely concerned with the decision of Pope 1.en XIII to make Newman a Cardinal and the efforts which were made to frustrate his intention.
"My Cardinal!" the Pope later recalled, "it was not easy. They said he was too liberal. but
had determined to honour the Church in honouring Newman. I always had a cult for him. I am proud that I was able to honour
such ti man."
In order to clarify the sequence of events, the editors have reprinted nil only the replies to Newman's letters, but also the correspondence between Bishop Ullathbrne and Cardinal Manning and that between Cardinal Manning and the Duke of Norfolk.
With all the material now collected together some of' it published for the first time it is possible to follow events as they happened and to draw the obvious conclusions.
During the next few years, Newman was established as a Cardinal and used his prestige to keep open the question of biblical inspiration. He argued that the freedom from error which covered the Bible as a religious document did not necessarily cover scientific and historical °biter dicta, but matters of faith and morals and the history bound up with them.
The essays "On the Inspiration of Scripture" were criticised in some quarters, but they were welcomed by other scholars, such as Friedrich von Hugel or Louis Duchesne, at home and abroad.
Newman's pastoral zeal was exemplified in another ,way when he visited Mark PattisOn.
ho was then dying. Pattison, who had lost his faith in Christianity, was deeply moved by the visit, as his wife recorded after his death.
Newman's sympathy for Ireland is revealed in his correspondence, particularly with Gladstone during the Land War in the autumn of 1881. Newman also became involved in the controversy over Gladstone's Affirmation Bill of 1883, which would have allowed atheists to take their seats in Parliament without First taking an oath.
Most churchmen officially opposed the government move and Newman found himself in opposition to many Catholics when he publicly declared that the Affirmation Bill did not involve a religious principle, and by implication defended an atheist's right to freedom of conscience.
Newman's letters are both fascinating historical reading and at times strangely topical'. It only remains to thank the editors whose scholarship and industry ensure the continuing publication of these most important volumes.