Saturday, May 26, 2012

Archbishop Arthur Hinsley (1865 - 1943)

Westminster Cathedral, London

Tomb of Archbishop Hinsley, Westminster Cathedral
 For additional information click on 'Comments' below

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Blogger ritsonvaljos said...

Additional information

In the early part of WW2, during Britain's darkest years, the Cardinal - Archbishop of Westminster, Arthur Hinsley is remembered for his wartime broadcasts on the BBC. He became the fifth Archbishop of Westminster and the leader of the Roman Catholics in England & Wales on 25 March 1935. Having been made a Cardinal on 13 December 1937, Archbishop Hinsley took part in the Papal Conclave that elected the Italian Cardinal Pacelli as Pope Pius XII.

Prior to WW2, Archbishop Hinsley founded the 'Sword of the Spirit' movement, a Catholic-led ecumenical movement denouncing the totalitarianism then on the upswing in mainland Europe. In December 1940 while the population of Britain and London in particular was suffering from the Blitz, a letter appeared in 'The Times' signed by Archbishop Hinsley, Archbishop Cosmo Lang of Canterbury (Church of England), Archbishop William Temple of York (Church of England) and the Moderator of the Free Church Council.

According to Angus Calder in 'The People's War' (p.482), "... it was a leadership, as well as an expression of the co-operative spirit which the blitz was engendering ...".

The letter from the four church leaders put forward five standards to be adopted in the organisation of society:

1. Extreme inequality in wealth and possessions should be abolished;

2. All citizens should have equal educational opportunities;

3. The family must be safeguarded;

4. The sense of Divine vocation must be restored to man's daily work;

5. The resources of the earth should be used as God's gift's to the whole human race, and used with consideration for the needs of present and future generations.
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Archbishop Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury, passed away on 31 May 1942 and was succeeded by Archbishop William Temple. Archbishop Lang was laid to rest in Canterbury Cathedral, Kent.

Cardinal-Archbishop Arthur Hinsley died on 17 March 1943, St Patrick's Day. He was laid to rest inside Westminster Cathedral in St Joseph's Chapel (see photographs above).
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Saturday, 26 May, 2012  

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