John Henry Newman, a 19th-century Brish scholar, theologian and rdal, was nonized by the Pope as a Roman Catholic sat amid rampant speculatn that he was gay. Newman had a "romantic iendship" wh Ambrose St. John. The two prits lived together for 32 years and share the same grave. Vatin officials opened their grave 2008 an effort to separate them for Newman’s beatifitn, but nothg remaed that uld be divid. His feast day is Feb. 21 the Epispal church, Aug. 11 the Anglin tradn and Oct. 9 the Catholic church.
Contents:
- ST. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY CATHOLIC SAT?
- WAS CARDAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN GAY?
- WHY JOHN HENRY NEWMAN IS NO ‘GAY’ SAT
- GAY SAT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AND HIS “EARTHLY LIGHT” AMBROSE ST. JOHN SHARED ROMANTIC IENDSHIP
ST. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY CATHOLIC SAT?
Is he the Catholic Church’s first openly gay sat? The answer to that qutn pends on your fns of “openly, ” “gay, ” and “first. Many tradnalist Newman scholars refute the ia that this was a gay relatnship.
Ian Ker, one of the foremost Newman scholars, says that the relatnship was not homosexual bee, by all acunts, the two were celibate. Other scholars believe that to ll the uple gay is readg our own 21st century ias to 19th century phenomena. I agree that is not right to terpret a past relatnship terms of today’s morn awarens of homosexualy.
But that’s where we need to qutn what we might mean by “gay” and “openly. John were not gay bee is apparent that they were celibate. Ker’s prumptn then is that “gay” means “sexually active.
WAS CARDAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN GAY?
Of urse, the two men uld be gay and have had a strong affectnate and timate relatnship whout beg sexually active, jt as many gay men the prithood and relig life today mata their promis and vows of celibacy.
Many gay lay also live their liv by choosg not to be sexually timate wh someone. That don’t make them ls gay.
WHY JOHN HENRY NEWMAN IS NO ‘GAY’ SAT
Defendg Newman’s non-homosexualy by sayg that the prit was affectnate relatnships wh both men and women tri to expla away Newman’s love for St. While some people thk that homophobia agast gay men om a revulsn about male sex acts, I thk that for many people the more horrifyg and sndalo phenomenon is men beg emotnally sensive, tenr, and affectnate wh one another. Of urse, such gentle and timate rpons by men is only a problem if one suffers om tense homophobia or believ the enforcement of strict genr expectatns that men should not be emotnal and rg toward one another.
William Hart McNichols, a prent-day, openly gay prit. The other issue about Newman’s sexualy om our unrstandg of what means to be “openly gay. ” In the 21st century world, there is an unspoken expectatn afoot that to be “openly gay” means havg ma some very public statements about one’s orientatn and inty.
GAY SAT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AND HIS “EARTHLY LIGHT” AMBROSE ST. JOHN SHARED ROMANTIC IENDSHIP
Fally, if we of Newman as the first openly gay sat, we also have to look at what we mean by “first”? Yet, I thk a good se n be ma for Newman beg the “first openly gay” Catholic sat for the simple reason that we know so much more about him and his relatnship than we do about the other exampl. From what I know (admtedly limed), I thk the se for Newman’s openly gay inty is the strongt.