Around the Clubs . . . Newman Society

On April 27th James K. Baxter addressed the Society in the library of Rochester Hall. An audience of between seventy and eighty heard him recount his religious experiences and outline the reasons that led to his recently entering the Catholic Church.

He mentioned among other factors that influenced him, Graham Greene’s book The Power and the Glory. What impressed Mr Baxter in this book was the clear distinction drawn between the personality and the office of the ‘whisky priest’ who is its hero. This priest, despite his grievous moral weakness, remained a dispenser of authentic doctrine and valid Sacraments.

Within the Church, Mr Baxter concluded, one felt a great sense of freedom, because of this independence of the personality of any particular individual.

1958 (171)