Vatican Angers Activists by Moving Saint's Grave Away from his Alleged Gay Lover
Wednesday 20th August 2008
A shouting match has erupted over the body of a soon-to-be saint, due to be moved from the grave he shares with a “close friend” whom he lived with in life.
John Henry Newman was a British Cardinal during the Victorian era. The Vatican has fast-tracked Newman’s application for sainthood, with the Church expected to soon declare him “blessed”. “Blessed” is the penultimate step on the ladder to sainthood.
Of course, once Newman has been declared “blessed”, and even more so once he is canonized, his body will likely become an object of pilgrimage. Therein lies the heart of the problem.
The Vatican, anticipating heavy traffic, wants to move Newman from his current resting place in Rednal to a more grander grave in Birmingham. Newman, however, is not alone in death. He shares a grave with his close friend in life, Father Ambrose St. John.
Newman and St. John were both converts to Catholicism from the Anglican Church. They were part of the Oxford movement, which attempted to bring the English protestant church back towards its Catholic origin, before converting to Catholicism.
In life they were nearly inseparable. They shared a house for years before their deaths. Upon his death Cardinal Newman’s clearly specified that he should be interred along with the body of his departed friend.
Some modern historians, and many gay activists, believe that Newman and St. John’s closeness was a sign of a homosexual relationship. Peter Tatchell, gay activist with Outrage, claimed the Vatican’s decision to separate the two men he believes were lovers is an act of “moral vandalism” and “religious desecration.”
He accuses the Vatican of moving the body as a cover-up for the two men’s sexuality, although he concedes they could still have been celibate. Tatchell said: "There is little doubt that Newman and St John were gay and had a loving, long-term same sex relationship. It is impossible to know whether this relationship involved sex. It is conceivable that both men had a gay orientation but chose to abstain from sex. Abstinence does not alter a person's sexual orientation."
Tatchell added: “Newman repeatedly made it clear that he wanted to be buried next to his life-long partner, Ambrose St John. No one gave the Pope permission to defy Newman's wishes. The re-burial has only one aim in mind: to cover up Newman's homosexuality and to disavow his love for another man. It is an act of shameless dishonesty and personal betrayal by the gay-hating Catholic Church."
The Vatican has denied these claims, saying that the move is to allow pilgrims to pray and venerate the saint. Veneration does not take place at shared tombs.
A Vatican spokesman said that suggesting that close friends in the past were gay is a well-known “trick of homosexual activists … Now Cardinal Newman's great friendship with Ambrose St John is being slyly suggested as evidence of his being subject to a disordered sexuality. The utter absurdity of this idea speaks for itself."
Related Articles:
Historical Homosexuality: The Surprising Story of the Gay Saints and their Holy Homosexual Marriages
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
John Henry Newman was a British Cardinal during the Victorian era. The Vatican has fast-tracked Newman’s application for sainthood, with the Church expected to soon declare him “blessed”. “Blessed” is the penultimate step on the ladder to sainthood.
Of course, once Newman has been declared “blessed”, and even more so once he is canonized, his body will likely become an object of pilgrimage. Therein lies the heart of the problem.
The Vatican, anticipating heavy traffic, wants to move Newman from his current resting place in Rednal to a more grander grave in Birmingham. Newman, however, is not alone in death. He shares a grave with his close friend in life, Father Ambrose St. John.
Newman and St. John were both converts to Catholicism from the Anglican Church. They were part of the Oxford movement, which attempted to bring the English protestant church back towards its Catholic origin, before converting to Catholicism.
In life they were nearly inseparable. They shared a house for years before their deaths. Upon his death Cardinal Newman’s clearly specified that he should be interred along with the body of his departed friend.
Some modern historians, and many gay activists, believe that Newman and St. John’s closeness was a sign of a homosexual relationship. Peter Tatchell, gay activist with Outrage, claimed the Vatican’s decision to separate the two men he believes were lovers is an act of “moral vandalism” and “religious desecration.”
He accuses the Vatican of moving the body as a cover-up for the two men’s sexuality, although he concedes they could still have been celibate. Tatchell said: "There is little doubt that Newman and St John were gay and had a loving, long-term same sex relationship. It is impossible to know whether this relationship involved sex. It is conceivable that both men had a gay orientation but chose to abstain from sex. Abstinence does not alter a person's sexual orientation."
Tatchell added: “Newman repeatedly made it clear that he wanted to be buried next to his life-long partner, Ambrose St John. No one gave the Pope permission to defy Newman's wishes. The re-burial has only one aim in mind: to cover up Newman's homosexuality and to disavow his love for another man. It is an act of shameless dishonesty and personal betrayal by the gay-hating Catholic Church."
The Vatican has denied these claims, saying that the move is to allow pilgrims to pray and venerate the saint. Veneration does not take place at shared tombs.
A Vatican spokesman said that suggesting that close friends in the past were gay is a well-known “trick of homosexual activists … Now Cardinal Newman's great friendship with Ambrose St John is being slyly suggested as evidence of his being subject to a disordered sexuality. The utter absurdity of this idea speaks for itself."
Related Articles:
Historical Homosexuality: The Surprising Story of the Gay Saints and their Holy Homosexual Marriages
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
