GKC: should there be a cause?
At our recent conference (go to the Conference 2009 page via the website homepage for my opening remarks), I made it clear that it was not intended as the opening shot in a campaign for a cause to be opened towards Chesterton’s beatification: it was simply to ask a question: is there, or should there be, what the Congregation for the Causes of Saints calls ‘a reputation for holiness’ around his writings and his person–the necessary prerequisite for such a cause. This is not a Roman Catholic Society (though many of its members are Catholics) so we can’t as a society ask for a cause to be opened. But many non- Catholics (I used to be one) think that canonization is something the Catholic Church does which they value: one non-Catholic told me that he thought that it was a sign that we take one of our own seriously as a spiritual figure, and if we didn’t take Chesterton seriously, why should he?Chesterton has had a huge influence over non-Catholics like Dorothy L. Sayers and C.S. Lewis, and we should never forget that Orthodoxy was written when he was an Anglican, and is the result of Anglican theological influences. A famously holy American Anglican priest once replied, when asked why on earth Chesterton had become a Roman Catholic, “Oh, it was necessary for him to become a Catholic: only the Catholic Church can canonize him”.
First, though, there has to be some evidence of a cult in England as there is throughout the world. And in fact there is: it was very evident among those who attended our conference. It is quite wrong to say that it is only in America and Argentina that anyone is interested in Chesterton in this way. And even if there were only a cult outside England, that would be no bar to opening a cause. I have had contacts in Poland, Spain and France who are mostly puzzled that there is no cause already, as well as in America. But an English Bishop would obviously look for some evidence of a cult here, a difficult matter since the English are reticent about such matters. But such evidence is now emerging, shyly, from the shadows: if you are part of it now is the time to make yourself known.
Meanwhile, go to http://www.zenit.org/article-26454?l=english for evidence of Chesterton’s ‘reputation for holiness’ in Italy.
–William Oddie
July 18th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
My name is Marco Sermarini and I’m the chairman of Italian Chesterton Society, born in 2002. Please, excuse me for my bad english. I’m reading your book and it’s very very interesting. Our way of thinking about the issue of Chesterton’s holiness is well summed in the article you quoted (it’s our vice-chairman’s interview by Zenit Agency). Speaking with some of our members, many of them ask the same thing said by the american chestertonians: why not? Why couldn’t Gilbert be blessed or saint? This as a consequence of the work started in their souls after the reading of many of his best works (first of all, Orthodoxy). In latin words, propter hoc. We are looking for the evidence you spoke about. I’ll tell you about this. Thank you very much for managing the meeting of the 4th of July because it’ll be the way to show all the good things made by our dearest Gilbert. I must thank God for the gift of Gilbert who gave me the gift of hope, beauty and greatness of catholicism, innocence and a lot of other things.
Go and see http://uomovivo.blogspot.com
Marco Sermarini
July 18th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Another little thing: we print little images of Gilbert in every Chesterton Day (2009 was the seventh Chesterton day). They go away in few minutes. Personally, I have always with me a little image of Gilbert. His face always makes me smile and pushes me towards God.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:15 am
Whilst at the Oxford Conference, somebody asked me what my favorite book (by Chesterton) was. I said, almost without thinking, Manalive. I said this because it happens to be true but it made me realise that, although I had read about Chesterton in recent years, I had not read anything by him for some time. For me Chesterton had become a background. A way of thinking, as in Manalive, a way of looking at things, an optimism.
Meanwhile the march of materialism is unrelenting. I use the word , materialism, in its philosophical rather than its social sense.
Patricia Churchland, in an edition of “Philosophy Talk” said that “mind is what the brain does” and again Gary Marcus in “Kluge” indicating that the brain itself was evolved accidentally. The tendency in modern philosophy to take away from mankind even the responsibility for his own thoughts.
What we need is a good dose of Chesterton to help set things straight. We need someone to do for Chesterton that which Chesterton did for Aquinas. The beatification process will act as a stimulus to examine Chesterton in depth, to examine his metaphysics and to make the results available to the world at large.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
One thing to be added to the growing evidence of a world-wide cult: the official prayer for the canonization of John Henry Newman includes the following: “May you manifest your Servant’s power of intercession by even extraordinary answers to the prayers of the faithful throughout the world. ” So evidence of a local cult is not the sine qua non for opening a cause: and indeed, Newman’s first miracle took place in America. And anyway, THERE IS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE OF A LOCAL CULT.
WILLIAM ODDIE
July 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I would like to thank Wiliam Oddie for his new and excellent biography “Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy.” The latter chapters on The Man who was Thursday and Orthodoxy are particularly thought provoking. Here, I think, is the key to Chesterton’s depression at The Slade and his inductive reasoning that went to form his theology.
To be pursued further.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’m glad that after surfing the web for such a long time I have found out this information. I’m really lucky.
August 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
“…the English are reticent about such matters.”
A classic example of English understatement.
August 6th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
All the best for your future.
April 8th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
lackeyman…
http://www.midiamore.com/index.php/member/78/ edgy…
April 12th, 2010 at 9:22 am
да быстрей б она уже вышла!!…
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April 15th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
По моему мнению Вы не правы. Давайте обсудим это. Пишите мне в PM, пообщаемся….
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