VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV named St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church on Thursday (July 31), recognizing the lasting impact the 19th-century convert’s writings on conscience and the development of doctrine have had on the Catholic Church.
Newman was an influential figure in England’s Oxford Movement, which aimed to restore the Church of England to its Catholic roots. He converted to Catholicism in 1845 and was ordained a priest. The pope’s namesake, Leo XIII, made Newman a cardinal in 1879, even though Newman wasn’t a bishop.
The decision to enshrine Newman, who died in 1890, among the now 38 doctors of the church, including St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, was discussed during a plenary session of cardinals, bishops and members of the Vatican department for sainthood causes. Newman will be the second doctor of the church from England, after the Middle Ages monk St. Bede, who was recognized by Pope Leo XIII in 1899.
Among Newman’s most influential theological works was “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,” written in 1845, which argued that the application of Catholic doctrine may change over time even if its core truths stay the same. His reflections influenced the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, which soug …