Papal Booklet - More Information

22 June 2010

Last week cliftondiocese.com heard from our Papal Visit Coordinator Father Michael McAndrew.  He had just returned from the launch of the special new booklet about the Holy Father’s historic visit.  Today (22 June) we bring you more information about the ‘The Pope in the UK’ booklet.

The booklet which will is now available in all our parishes aims to answer some simple questions about the visit itself, the call of faith and its unfolding in daily life and the role of the Catholic Church. It is made up of 10 questions, ranging from why the Pope is meeting the Queen to the contribution of the Catholic Church to British society and why the Pope will be beatifying Cardinal Newman.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “We wanted to try to answer the questions of those curious about the visit in an accessible and intelligent way. It is an attempt to get beyond the immediacy of headlines and make available the immensely rich tradition of the Church in dealing with the dilemmas of human life that Pope Benedict so eloquently expresses.

“We are looking to spell out the richness of Catholic tradition and also the enormous contribution of the Catholic Church to this country and around the world. It is important to explain who the Pope is so people can better appreciate this historic visit.”

As the preface to ‘The Pope in the UK’ sets out: “Today there are many gaps in public knowledge in these matters. This booklet seeks to address those gaps, not in a profound or systematic manner but just by way of some clear facts and indications.

“They will be helpful in preparation for this Papal Visit: helpful to those who are curious, helpful to those who need to understand a little more, helpful to those who are looking forward intently to these historic days.”

The cover of the booklet features the official logo of the papal visit. It was designed by leading architectural artist Brian Clarke and incorporates the papal visit motto ‘Heart speaks unto heart’, taken from Cardinal Newman’s writings.

250,000 copies have distributed to all parishes across England and Wales, and Scotland last weekend.

The theme for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK is ‘Cor ad cor loquitur’ – ‘Heart speaks unto heart’. Cardinal John Henry Newman chose the words as the motto to go on his coat of arms. Heart speaks unto heart is a fitting choice for this papal visit as, on the final day of his Apostolic Journey, the Holy Father will beatify Cardinal Newman - the much-loved Victorian theologian.

When Newman became a Cardinal in 1879, he had to choose a motto to go on his coat of arms. He chose the Latin words Cor ad Cor loquitur - heart speaks unto heart. Where did these words come from? At the time, Newman thought they came from the Imitation of Christ (written in the 1400s), but in fact he was mistaken - they're from St Francis de Sales (1567 to 1622) a French bishop and great spiritual writer whom Newman revered. In fact, Newman chose to put a painting of St Francis above the altar in his own Chapel at the Birmingham Oratory.

'Heart speaks to heart' - who is speaking to who? The phrase has different levels, which together tell us a lot about Newman, his understanding of what it is to be human, and his vision of a humanity redeemed by Christ. Newman thought that true communication between us speaks from our heart to the heart of others around us - much more than just clever talking. He wrote in an Anglican sermon: “Eloquence and wit, shrewdness and dexterity, these plead a cause well and propagate it quickly, but it dies with them. It has no root in the hearts of men, and lives not out a generation.” Truth speaks from the centre of the person, from their heart:”'By a heart awake from the dead, and by affections set on heaven, we can... truly and without figure witness that Christ liveth.” In the age of the internet, Newman tells us that however we communicate, what we say should come from the heart, the fruits of a moral life lived in communion with Christ.

In fact, Christ speaks to us from his own heart. 'Thou art the living Flame, and ever burnest with love of man' - he is 'the Word, the Light, the Life, the Truth, Wisdom, the Divine Glory.' So, in the end, it's the Heart of God himself which speaks to us - in prayer, in the Mass, through the Scriptures. But also through other faithful Christians, and in the teachings of the Church. As Newman says: “When the Church speaks thou dost speak.” The Church has no other heart than the heart of Christ himself.

You can download ‘The Pope in the UK’ booklet in the multimedia panel on the right and see photographs from the launch in the image gallery.

The official website thepapalvisit.org.uk is the best place to find out the most up-to-date information in the build up to the special time in the life of the Church in our countries.  The top quality website will also provide the best coverage during the visit - if you're unable to be at any of the events it's a great place for you to follow the visit virtually.

You can also make your donation towards the visit at the official website.  It's simple, secure and direct.

There's much more from Archbishop Nichols on the official papal visit website thepapalvisit.org.uk. You can listen to Archbishop Nichols speaking at the launch of the booklet and hear him answering questions from journalists at the press conference.