Letter: Tribute to Hume
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Andrew Brown ("The qualifications of a modern holy man", 19 June) hits the nail on the head when he says that Cardinal Basil Hume's holiness was hard work and cost him a great deal.
An Anglican Bishop challenged me on the day of Abbot Hume's appointment to Westminster for claiming that it was an excellent appointment. He rightly said I didn't know the Abbot well enough. I explained, quite simply, that it had to do with holiness. "When he was 18, with his personality, education and contacts, he had the world at his feet; he gave it all up to become a monk. Now he has even been called to give up living as a monk."
It was hard work, but he gave himself fully to the priests and people of his diocese of Westminster without ever losing any of his love for his community at Ampleforth. His tomb in St Gregory's Chapel of Westminster Cathedral will be a memorial to this aspect of his holiness.
He once told some students who asked him about going to the House of Lords, "I want to be buried in my monk's habit, not in ermine." But, when he knew that he would die as Archbishop, he made arrangments to be buried in his Cathedral.
Holiness is hard work and often difficult to understand. Cardinal Hume's great achievement has been to show thousands of people that you can be holy and still remain very much a human English person.
HUGH LINDSAY
Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
The writer was Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, 1974-1992
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments