This post is the third in a short series this week to mark the Pope’s visit to England and Scotland.

Can a church be renewed or do those who seek renewal ultimately have to accept that the only option is to either leave for another church or set up a brand new church? I ask the question since the Pope is to beatify someone who was part of a renewal movement in the Church of England in the mid 19th century but who subsequently became a Roman Catholic, namely John Henry Newman (1801-90).

Newman was part of the Oxford Movement – or Tractarians, a name given to them because of the number of tracts they published calling for reform – which sought to reintroduce Catholic teaching into the Anglican Church. They enjoyed much success and many dioceses, including Bangor, were heavily influenced by their work. However, Newman was not satisfied and chose to leave the Church in order to become a Catholic. This he did in 1845 and since he was unmarried he was ordained a priest two years later, becoming a Cardinal in 1879. Many nonconformists feared him as he made Roman Catholicism more acceptable in the country.

In an earlier age others – with a very different theological perspective – have sought to renew the Anglican Church but have felt dissatisfied with the pace and substance of reform, in particular the Puritans of the 17th century and the Methodists a century later. Of course, the Church of England was itself born out of the renewal movement of the 16th century and though we caricature the Reformation in England as a tussle over Henry VIII’s right to divorce and remarry, the truth is that there were many surrounding him who, for wholly theological reasons, were only too pleased to see the break with Rome. All these movements called and worked for reform within but felt ultimately that they had to leave for another fold.

Today there are voices within Anglicanism that seek change as they grapple with issues such as women bishops and same sex relationships. But it would appear that it is the traditionalists and conservatives who struggle to stay within. Could it be, therefore, that in Newman’s beatification they will find someone who leads them away from Canterbury and into Rome?