In a week’s time, God willing, Pope Benedict XVI will be here among us, being only the second Pope ever to visit us, throughout our long history. 

Pope Benedict XVI 

Some, of course, will well remember the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982, blessed as he was with a week of glorious sunshine, a relatively young man and full of energy. I remember, so well, the ‘buzz’ that his visit aroused, as I walked up from Putney to Wimbledon, and to the residence of the Papal Nuncio, where Pope John Paul was to stay and appear on the balcony, that night. And there was a real ‘buzz’!  Strangers were talking to each other – most unusual for our fellow countrymen and women – normally so reserved. I was in the ‘happy’ crowd that was with him as he spoke, briefly, and prayed that night.

Pope John Paul II 

The Pope is the one who succeeds Peter – his true successor; Peter was the centre of unity for the apostles, and his successor is the centre of unity for the Bishops and for us Catholics – a major responsibility given to him by Jesus. Peter, and therefore his successor, was given the ‘charge’ to care for and feed the flock. Jesus said to St. Peter:

“Simon you are a blessed man, for it is not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. Now you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church”.  

For us Catholics, the Pope is our leader and spiritual father, providing a focal point for the stability of our faith; he is our hope; he is the focus of our love. These three, cardinal virtues, mark us as Christians, for without them we cannot be followers of Christ. That is why it is so wonderful that the Pope should be coming among us to confirm us in these virtues, and, for sure, we need this confirmation – given the times in which we live.  

In his unique position, the Pope is the ‘Father’ of a worldwide ‘family’, and, as such, during his visit to Britain, he will meet leaders of other Christian denominations, as well as leaders of other faith communities. Because his visit is a ‘State Visit’, he will meet with the Queen and political leaders of the various denominations, and in such meetings, he will be able to share world-wide views of the challenges facing societies today.  In this regard, and in all probability, he will be unlike any other ‘national’ leader. It is remarkable that the Pope, alone, has the stature to bring together peoples of all religions – and also peoples of none.  During the papacy of his predecessor, this happened for world religions at Assisi, on three occasions, when representatives of all the major Christian Denominations – and World Religions – came together and prayed, in 1986, 1993 and 2002.  

With all these ideas in mind, I feel it is an honour to be allowed to fly the Papal flag, even here in our small town of Leyland. Surely, it is something of which to be proud, knowing that we can also contribute to this world-wide mission of the Pope, something very much reflected in the official prayer, set out in preparation for his coming, with the words: “May Pope Benedict be a witness to the unity and hope which is your will for all people”. 

John Henry Newman, in Earlier Life, and later as Cardinal

During his visit, the Pope will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman 

Cardinal Newman: Quite apart from his many other talents, this great Englishman had a direct affect on the life history of my own family – the ‘Cotton’ family – under the leadership of Henry and Rosemary Cotton, our father and mother, because my mother, as a young girl in the 1930’s, read Cardinal Newman’s ‘Apologia Pro Vita Sua’, and was deeply influenced it. It was after reading the treatise that she entered into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, (circa. 1933); later, she was to tell me, that it was Newman who pushed her, finally, into the Catholic Church. Mother was no intellectual, but the crux of her argument was: “If it was good enough for Cardinal Newman, it is good enough for me”. Her strong Catholic faith – together with her love of the Anglican Church – was something that influenced me, greatly, as a young man.  I remember, well, the days when we would listen to ‘Evensong’, then often broadcast late evening on Radio 3, (The Third Programme those many years ago), and my mother would always delight in listening – and joining in – with the psalm singing and the hymns she knew so well. 

Personally, I think there were other influences on my mother – influences complementing those from Cardinal Newman. Rosemary, who was baptised an ‘Anglican’ in line with the rest of her family, had been educated by the Catholic Sion Nuns, in London, during her teens; later she, and her twin sister Elaine, were sent by my maternal Grandparents, Laurie and Nyda Tremlett, to a finishing school – also run by Catholic nuns – on Lake Constance, South Germany. Grandfather Laurie said to both girls, as they left home to begin this experience: “For pity’s sake, do not be influenced by those Papist nuns – remember you are Anglicans”. Later, Rosemary became a ‘nanny’ for a very good Catholic soldier, General Martin, and his wife – the general being the Military Attaché, in Poland, in the early 1930’s; from there she observed the Catholic Church, with its mark of ‘universality’, because she was to meet so many Catholics at Sunday Mass, in the many different Churches visited by the family.

Henry, Rosemary carrying her first born – my elder sister Joanna –

and Granny Gigia (Henry’s mother) 

However, there was to be one ‘last straw’, in my mother’s decision to enter the Catholic Church, and that was her meeting with my father at the house of General Martin, some time later at Chatham.  Both my father and the ‘Sapper’ General, were members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, in the Catholic parish, in Chatham. She told me later that, at the first meeting, she was determined to ‘marry that man’; my Father, Henry, was a deeply religious Catholic, all his life, including those years encompassing his mid-twenties. I think the religious ‘streak’ possessed by my Father, attracted my mother to him, and, although she afterwards told me she did not become a Catholic because of him, I have no doubt this was an influence, well within my mother’s temperament, leading her to ‘act more from the heart than from the ‘head’.  

But, now I want to return to Cardinal Newman – and his importance – for me. This holy man took a long time to consider before ‘taking the plunge’ and becoming a Catholic – in all about 20 years. Firstly, in this regard, I believe it may have been far better not to have rushed into things, especially when considerations involved not just matters of doctrine, but also matters pertaining to the taking on of another culture. Secondly, the things he wrote about – all eminently sensible – reflect what actually happened. One of his books is called ‘The Development of Christian Doctrine’, the title, itself, giving such a positive feel to the dynamic nature of Christian life: although everything is revealed through Christ, yet our understanding develops, gradually, over time – in this case over centuries, and this happens in life as well. All of us know what it means to be human, even as a child, but our conception and understanding of this generic concept, as an adult, is very different to the child’s ‘immature’ outlook.  Another of his books is called ‘An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent’. In this, he deals with ideas such as ‘How can I believe what I do not understand?’, and “Can I believe what is not proved”?  I remember, personally, trying to understand, and, hopefully, trying to arrive at some possible answers to these questions: I have a suspicion that the answers may still be escaping me, but also that, perhaps, my mother’s philosophy was what helped me through: “If Cardinal Newman thought it, it must be all right.” 

What impresses me most about Cardinal Newman, is that he was willing, and pleased, to be received into Full Communion, by Blessed Dominic Barberi, in October 1846 – not by a brilliant, Catholic, theologian, but by a holy Italian missionary, who could not even speak English, properly.  In August 1890, 20,000 people lined the streets of Birmingham, to see his coffin move along the streets of Birmingham to his grave, and this fact, alone, speaks volumes about his appeal, not only to the intellectuals, but also to the ordinary person in the street. It reminds me, in miniature, of the death of Pope John Paul II, when millions queued to be with him, as he was dying, in the year, 2005. 

It has been a very good and worthwhile exercise to dwell, for a time – to consider – to try to understand, some of the importance Cardinal Newman has had – on Catholic thinking – and on my own family’s fortunes, but it is also important to return to present society, and to Pope Benedict’s visit, 2010.  In truth, I think, here, the best thing to pray for as the Pope comes to visit to our shores is for good weather. It may be that not too many people fully realise the effect that our weather has on peoples’ disposition and good humour.  Certainly,  it will make a massive difference, should the days September 16 – 19, be bright and sunny, and that ought to be one of the prime things to pray for in these few days of preparation. On a more faith-based note, may he bless and encourage us, and confirm us in our faith, hope and love for the Glory of God, and the good of all.