By Catherine Pepinster
The announcement this weekend that Pope Francis is to appoint the English Dominican friar, Timothy Radcliffe a cardinal, confirms this quietly spoken but charismatic Catholic priest as one of the most influential clerics of his generation — more influential, arguably, than archbishops of Westminster have been.
The appointment is another sign of how much confidence the Pope has in Radcliffe. It comes as he led members of the latest session of the Synod on Synodality in Rome in spiritual reflections at the start of their gathering, just as he had done at Francis’s request, at the retreat for bishops and Synod participants in January last year.
Not that Francis is the only pope to express confidence in Radcliffe. Some years ago, when Cardinal Joseph Ratizinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) was prefect of the inquisitory Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, he would leave Radcliffe to sort out problematic theologians in his own Dominican order, rather than Ratzinger investigate them himself.
At that time, Radcliffe was master of the Dominican Order, in effect global chief executive of one of the biggest Catholic religious orders, a role he held from 1992 to 2001.
Radcliffe’s influence, however, goes much further than his order or his engagement with popes and Vatican officials.
The Dominicans are otherwise known as the Order of Preachers and Radcliffe has been long been one of the most popular preachers across the globe, speaking in retreats which he gives in English or in his equally fluent French.
His books have also been bestsellers, particularly I Call You Friends, Seven Last Words, Why Go to Church? The Drama of the Eucharist, and What Is the Point of Being a Christian?, which won the 2007 Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing.
Radcliffe’s elevation to the cardinalate — he will be formerly appointed alongside 20 others at a ceremony known as a consistory on 8 December, also marks a remarkable moment in the relationship between England and Rome.
For the first time, four Englishmen will concurrently hold the office of cardinal. Apart from Radcliffe, they are Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; Cardinal Arthur Roche, formerly Bishop of Leeds and currently prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome; and Michael Fitzgerald, a member of the White Fathers religious order and a former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
While it is traditional for an Archbishop of Westminster to be given a red hat, and for someone who heads a Vatican office, others can be appointed cardinal in recognition of their particular contribution to the church. Those appointed cardinal become members of the College of Cardinals whose chief function is to elect a pope.
Participating in the papal election, otherwise known as a conclave, does, however, depend on age. Only cardinals aged below 80 on the date the conclave starts have a vote.
Whether three of the four English cardinals vote for Pope Francis’s successor — Michael Fitzgerald is already too old at 87 — depends on when he either resigns or dies. Vincent Nichols is 78, Arthur Roche is 74 and Timothy Radcliffe is 79.
Radcliffe’s impact on the English Catholic community began early. He entered the Dominican order in 1965 when he was 20 and within a few years Penguin published Against All Reason, Religious Life in the Modern World, which featured an image of a young, prayerful Radcliffe in his white Dominican habit on the cover.
He has spent most of his life as a Dominican based at the order’s Blackfriars base in Oxford, apart from his nine years as master of the order in Rome, but has always travelled widely, being in huge demand as a speaker.
His travels as master took him to some of the most dangerous corners of the globe where his Dominican brethren were working, and he has continued those travels to risky places since stepping down from office.
While his writings have introduced him to countless Catholics, he was already well-known in Catholic circles in England before his publishing career. He is a member of a well-connected network of Catholic recusant families and his life and work in Oxford has also meant he has been hugely influential among leading Catholics — an influence that can be equated with that of Cardinal Basil Hume.
Like Hume, Radcliffe combines an easy self-assurance which comes from a gentry background, an ability to not be cowed by those in authority, while also having a talent for mixing with ordinary people, and a deep spirituality from being a member of a religious order. Hume was a Benedictine monk.
Among his admirers is Lord Patten, the former Conservative cabinet minister, who was chancellor of Oxford when the university awarded Radcliffe an honorary doctor of divinity in 2003.
Patten said in the award citation: “I present a man distinguished both for eloquence and for wit, a master theologian who has never disregarded ordinary people, a practical man who believes that religion and the teachings of theology must be constantly applied to the conduct of public life”.
While Radcliffe had always been loyal to the official teachings of the Catholic Church, his nuanced writings have been found especially appealing by more liberal Catholics, who have particularly appreciated his concern for LGBTQI+ Catholics. He has written of his disquiet about the language used in the past by the church about gay people, and has often spoken at gatherings of gay Catholics.
His appeal is ecumenical too, and he has lectured in Westminster Abbey, while his book Why Go to Church? included a foreword by Rowan Williams, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury.
Three years ago, Radcliffe was struck down by cancer of the jaw, a debilitating illness which, cruelly for a preacher, limited his ability to speak. But he has since made a successful recovery and has been able to continue his work as an author and speaker — including being hired as one by a Pope.
