The media caravanserai has moved on, but Cardinal John Henry Newman is now and will remain known as Blessed John Henry. He remains also a significant, if complex, figure for gay and lesbian Catholics in his relationship with his beloved Ambrose St John, and in his theology for progressive Catholics more generally. The theology is subtle, and has been too easily misappropriated by people on both sides of the Church ideological divide. I do not (yet) want to enter that territory. About the relationship with Ambrose, I feel more secure.
| Inscription for a grave in which both John Henry and Ambrose were buried |
Alan Bray ("The Friend
") has written extensively about this relationship, showing how it fits into an ancient tradition of close, even passionate friendship between male couples in the Church:
") has written extensively about this relationship, showing how it fits into an ancient tradition of close, even passionate friendship between male couples in the Church:
