Solution to the crisis, according to Cardinal Newman
When he was created a cardinal by Leo XIII in 1879, Newman gave a speech thanking the pope, in which he denounced liberalism, as the pope himself would do in 1888 in Libertas Praestantissimum. At the end of his speech, the English prelate recalled the means by which Providence ordinarily delivers the Church from her enemies who seek her destruction—he did not yet envisage, admittedly, an internal enemy like Modernism, which was condemned in 1907 by Saint Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis.
He declared: “Sometimes our enemy is turned into a friend; sometimes he is despoiled of that special virulence of evil that was so threatening; sometimes he falls to pieces of himself; sometimes he does just so much as is beneficial, and then is removed. Commonly the Church has nothing more to do than to go on in her own proper duties, in confidence and peace; to stand still and to see the salvation of God.”
One might wonder whether the attitude that Newman proposes for the Church toward the danger that threatens her on all sides is not tantamount to unawareness and irenicism: to go about one’s duties in confidence and peace! Yet this is precisely where the supernatural strength of the Church becomes evident: standing firm doctrinally in the storm, without allowing herself to be seduced by the siren voices inviting her to dialogue with a restless modernity that is constantly tripping over its own novelties. Following Saint Paul, Bishop Lefebvre always said: “Tradidi quod et accepi, I delivered that which I also received” [1 Corinthians 15:3].
About the Benedict XVI visit in the United Kingdom, you can also read :
Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom : The scandal of pedophile priests
Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom : The role of Catholics in a secularized society
Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom : The particular mission of the bishops
Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom : Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue
Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom : Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman
Commentary : Newman and the Liberal English Society
