The Late Cardinal

Extract

Blackfriars, a month late owing to war conditions in production, wishes to join its voice with the innumerable tributes that have honoured and mourned the passing of Cardinal Hinsley. Catholics all over the country have expressed their gratitude to him for making Catholicism acceptable to their fellow countrymen, showing that it is no ‘Italian Mission ‘but has continued as much a part of England from time immemorial as his Catholic village home in Yorkshire. They have recognized the great qualities of this old Country Catholicism incarnate in the Cardinal, essentially straightforward with a hatred of the underhand and a love of fair play which represent the best in the English tradition. Many have recalled how this Yorkshire directness was elevated by a strongly Christian life that grew out of a deep personal love of our Lord and made his actions clearly Christo-centric. It was this Christian life that explained his warm-hearted attitude to non-Catholics which was already clear in his teaching days at Ushaw and culminated in his personal relations with Dr. Cosmo Lang and Dr. George Bell in particular. Blackfriars can add nothing new to what has been said in this way, but we are grateful to Dr. Bell, Bishop of Chichester, for consenting to write the memoir of this issue and so enabling us to pay our own tribute to the Cardinal’s memory in a way that he would appreciate. We are grateful, too, to Sir James Marchant for contributing another generous Anglican tribute. May the co-operation that the Cardinal implemented continue to bear an increasing fruit as a permanent memorial to his name.