Major conference to discuss Cardinal Newman and intellectual life

In anticipation of the beatification of Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman, a major conference will be held at the Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island to discuss the nineteenth-century convert and theologian.

The conference theme is “Newman and the Intellectual life.” It will take place from June 10-13, 2010.

Lecturers include Deacon Jack Sullivan, a Boston-area man whose spine miraculously healed after he sought Cardinal Newman’s intercession; Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society; and Fr. Paul Chavasse, the English Oratory priest who oversaw Newman’s cause for beatification.

Dr. Peter Kreeft of Boston College, Fr. George Rutler of New York, Newman biographer Fr. Ian Ker and Newman scholars Edward Short and Dr. Paul Griffiths will also attend, a Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) press release reports.

Reilly, who will speak to the conference about Newman and the renewal of Catholic identity in higher education, said that American Catholics have “great love” for Cardinal Newman and have “much excitement” about his likely beatification in September.

“The collaboration of The Cardinal Newman Society, Portsmouth Abbey and Newman’s Oratory in Birmingham, England, will foster even greater appreciation for Cardinal Newman’s contributions to Catholic intellectual and spiritual life,” he commented.

Cardinal Newman founded the Oratory in Birmingham, which is the site of his archives.

Fr. Chavasse, former provost of the oratory, will deliver a dinner banquet address at the conference on June 11. He will discuss Cardinal Newman’s cause for canonization and how to preserve his legacy.

Unofficial reports indicate that Cardinal Newman may be beatified in September.

Details on the conference are posted at http://www.PortsmouthInstitute.org.

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