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Joseph Berington (16 January 1743 – 1 December 1827) was a priest and one of the prominent British
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
writers of his day.


Life

Joseph Berington, born at
Winsley Winsley is a large village and civil parish about west of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Conkwell, Turleigh, Little Ashley and Great Ashley. History The area was probably farmed in Roman times, as ...
,
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
, was educated at the English College at
Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
. After his ordination to the priesthood he was promoted to the chair of philosophy in the university there. In this position his inclination towards liberal opinions became apparent, and his theses, prepared for the exhibition of his pupils, created such a stir that he thought it prudent to resign.Ward, Bernard. "Joseph Berington." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 January 2019
On his return to England, he occupied several positions in turn, each intended to give him leisure to pursue his studies. From 1776 to 1782 he was chaplain to Thomas Stapleton, of Carlton, Yorkshire, acting at the same time as tutor to his son, with whom he afterwards travelled around Europe. In December 1777, while in Paris, he wrote to
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
expressing his disappointment at Franklin's absence from the city at that time, and the hope to meet with him at a later date."To Benjamin Franklin from Joseph Berington", National Archives
/ref> We next find him at
St Mary's College, Oscott St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Purpose Oscott Co ...
, then a lonely country mission, where his cousin,
Charles Berington Charles Berington (b. at Stock, Essex, England, 1748; d. 8 June 1798) was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District from 1795 to 1798. Life At thirteen he was sent to the English College at Douai. ...
, who had been appointed coadjutor bishop, joined him. In 1782, Berington was one of the co-founders of the first Catholic Committee, formed to represent the Catholics in their struggle for
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; which gained for itself a reputation for its liberalizing principles, and the generally anti-episcopal tendency of its action. The Midland District was the chief centre of these opinions, and fifteen of the clergy of
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
formed themselves into an association of which Joseph Berington was the leader, the primary object being to stand by their bishop, Thomas Talbot, who was partly on that side. Afterwards, however, they were led into other action, especially in taking up the case of
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Joseph Wilkes, OSB, who had been suspended by his bishop in consequence of his action on the committee, which laid them open to criticism. Joseph Berington was by this time becoming well known as an author with an attractive style of writing, and advanced views. His ''State and Behaviour of English Catholics'' (1780) contained more than one passage of doubtful orthodoxy; his ''History of
Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
'' (1784) brought into prominence the same philosophical tendencies which had before manifested at Douai; and his ''Reflexions'', addressed to Rev. J. Hawkins, an apostate priest (1785 and 1788), were much criticized; while perhaps more than all, the ''Memoirs of
Panzani Panzani is a French brand of pasta. Since 2005, it has been a subsidiary of Ebro Foods. Overview The brand was started by Jean Panzani in Parthenay in 1950. In the 1950s, he sold pasta in cellophane whereas other companies used cardboard. From 1 ...
'', which he edited with an Introduction and Supplement (1793), gave him the reputation of being a disloyal Catholic. Under these circumstances, when Sir John Courtney Throckmorton of Buckland (then in
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nowadays in
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) appointed Berington his chaplain, Dr. Douglass, Bishop of the London District (in which Buckland was situated), refused to give him faculties, till in 1797 he printed a letter explaining his views, which the bishop considered satisfactory. A year or two later, Dr. Douglass again suspended him, until he signed a further declaration in 1801. Berington passed the remainder of his life at Buckland, where he wrote the most extensive of all his works, ''The Literary History of the Middle Ages'' (1811). He published many other books at different times; but some of his writings remained in manuscript, lest their publication should give offence. In private life Joseph Berington was a model priest, exact in the discharge of his duties, and noted for his charity to the poor. He was respected by all who knew him, Catholic and Protestant alike, and after his death a slab was erected in his memory in the Anglican church at Buckland with an inscription written by his friend, Rev. John Bew, formerly President of Oscott.


Works

The only likeness extant is a
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, in the ''Catholic Directory'' for 1832. Berington's works (besides those mentioned in the text) are: *''Present State of Caths.'' (1787); *''Rights of Dissenters'' (1789); *''Henry II, Richard and John'' (1790); *''Examination of Events termed Miraculous'' (1796); *''Gother's Prayers'' (1800); *''Decline and Fall of Catholic Religion in England'' (1813), *'' Faith of Catholics'' (1830); *a reprint of ''Memoirs of Panzani''; *numerous letters and pamphlets and many other works in manuscript.


Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Berington 1743 births 1827 deaths People from Herefordshire English non-fiction writers 18th-century English Roman Catholic priests 19th-century English Roman Catholic priests English male non-fiction writers