John Henry Cardinal Newman
John Henry Newman was born in 1801. He is the most distinguished graduate of Oxford University. For twenty-four years he was a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1845 he became a Catholic
“From the time that I became a Catholic, of course I have no further history of my religious opinions to narrate. In saying this, I do not mean to say that my mind has been idle, or that I have given up thinking on theological subjects; but that I have had no changes to record, and have had no anxiety of heart whatever. I have been in perfect peace and contentment. I never have had one doubt.
From the day I became a Catholic to this day, now close upon thirty years, I have never had a moment’s misgiving that the communion of Rome is that Church which the Apostles set up at Pentecost, which alone has the adoption on the sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the revealed law, and the service of God, and the Promises, and in which the Anglican communion, whatever its merits and demerits, whatever the great excellence of individuals in it, has, as such, no part. Never have I for a moment hesitated in my conviction, since 1845, that it was my clear duty to join the Catholic Church, as I did then join it, which in my own conscience I felt to be divine. Persons and places, incidents and circumstances of life, which belongs to my first forty-four years, are deeply lodged in my memory and my affections; moreover, I have had more to try and afflict me in various ways as a Catholic than as an Anglican; but never for a moment have I wished myself back; never have I ceased to thank my Maker for His mercy in enabling me to make the great change and never has He let me feel forsaken by Him in distress, or in any kind of religious trouble.
I have not had one moment’s wavering of trust in the Catholic Church ever since I was received into her fold. I hold, and have ever held, that her Sovereign Pontiff is the center of unity and the Vicar of Christ; and I ever have had, and have still, an unclouded faith in her creed and in all its articles; a supreme satisfaction in her worship, discipline, and teaching; and an eager longing, and a hope against hope, that the many dear friends whom I have left in Protestantism may be partakers of my happiness. …Return to the Church of England! No! the net is broken and we are delivered. I should be a consummate fool (to use a mild term) if in my old age, I left the land flowing with milk and honey, for the city of confusion and the house of bondage.”