The news channels are abuzz with the confirmation that the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman on Sunday September 19th 2010 will be held at Cofton Park near Rednall (the burial site of Newman at the Oratory Retreat House) just south of Birmingham. It seems like an obvious choice with clear historical links to the Oratory Community and Newman himself.
On the way to work this morning the local radio station BBC WM (West Midlands) had picked up on the story that Cofton Park was being considered (it turned out the Archdiocese was just waiting for the final decision to be made by Birmingham City Council before announcing it). Listeners were ringing in, with some complaining that the tax payers shouldn't have to foot the bill for such an event. I was able to ring in and point out that it is not part of the State Visit, and therefore funded entirely by the Catholic Church and the donations from the Faithful. I didn't expect to be asked a question involving the 'paedophile controversy' and tried to avoid it!
Then on the way home from work BBC WM had Peter Jennings on the line, who is the spokesman for the Archdiocese, who explained that the venue is smaller than Coventry Airport, accommodating about 70,000 people rather than nearly 200,000. This point I think should not take precedence when we are considering the dignity of the Mass and the event itself of a Beatification ceremony, not a concert. According to Jennings the Vatican had a delegation who looked around Cofton Park yesterday afternoon, and promptly asked the council permission to have the Beatification here. I know that some will express horror that all the money and planning that went into the Coventry Airport venue was wasted, but Jennings expressed the hope that Coventry council will provide their planning framework to Birmingham so that things aren't starting from scratch.
Peter Jennings also went on to say that the Vatican will be officially announcing the Pope's Itinerary on July 5th.
Anna Arco on her blog has even suggested the Pope wants to make a private visit to Birmingham Oratory to see Newman's rooms. What an exciting turn of events, and how nice to see the Oratory in a positive light after all the negative media attention in recent weeks.
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