The second of the conference's three themes was 'Newman as Educator'. Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, presented a paper titled 'Newman’s Impact on Education'.
“It cannot be over-stated that for Newman, it was imperative to remember the overall purpose of education. ‘If then’ he wrote , ‘a practical end must be assigned to a University course, I say that is training good members of society … It is education which gives a man a clear, conscious view of their own opinions and judgements, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them. It teaches him to see things as they are, to go right to the point, to disentangle a strain of thought, to dissect what is sophisticated and to discard what is irrelevant.’ I would add that when they achieve this, the role of universities is clearly germane to attempts to promote what the French would doubtless call social solidarity.”
Cardinal Parolin gave the opening address at 'Newman - A Celebration'.
The second address looking at Newman's theology was delivered by Revd Dr Benjamin King
