Fr Ian Ker, Author at Catholic Herald

Fr Ian Ker

The saint whose life was ‘a history of failures’

October 10, 2019

John Henry Newman’s life can well be described as one of continual failures, if only because that was how he saw it. “All through life things happen to me which do not happen to others – I am the scapegoat,” he wrote. He was sad to think, as he looked back on his life, how

Newman should be the next Doctor of the Church

February 21, 2019

Canonisations vary greatly in their significance. The canonisation of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who devoted her life to the care of the dying, was not just the recognition of a very holy woman, it also highlighted the sanctity of life in a culture of death. Blessed John Henry Newman, who is soon to be canonised,

What most surprised Newman about Catholicism

August 31, 2018

As an Anglican he had carefully avoided Catholic churches. One unexpected feature of his new religious life struck him forcefully

How Newman fell in love with the Blessed Sacrament

July 29, 2018

The reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in Catholic churches impressed and moved Newman more than anything else

‘Awful and real’

June 28, 2018

The story of Newman’s conversion to Catholicism is not quite the same as his subsequent discovery of Catholicism. There were then very few Catholic places of worship, and, in any case, to avoid the charge that the Oxford or Tractarian Movement was really just a preparation for conversion to the Church of Rome, Newman had

What Newman really stood for

December 15, 2016

I wrote the book Newman on Vatican II for two reasons. First, I hoped to settle once and for all the question that always hangs around Newman: was he a conservative or a liberal theologian? Once Newman has been canonised – which is likely to be soon now that he has been beatified – it

What Newman really stood for

December 14, 2016

It cannot be long before Cardinal Newman is not only canonised but becomes a Doctor of the Church – so it’s important we understand his theology

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