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How did John Henry Newman compare the early Christian church with the modern Roman Catholic Church?

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St. John Henry Newman English prelate, theologian, and poet John Henry Newman converted to Roman Catholicism in 1845. He was made a cardinal in 1879.

John Henry Newman addressed the historical tension between the early church and the modern Roman Catholic Church through his theory of the "development of an idea," most notably articulated in his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.12

Initially, Newman found the historical differences between the early, undivided church and the modern Roman Catholic Church to be an obstacle to his conversion. However, he resolved this by applying the concept of historical development to Christian society. He argued that just as a "great idea" requires time and deep thought for its full maturation, the doctrines and practices of the church underwent a process of "germination and maturation".21

Newman concluded that the modern Roman Catholic Church was the legitimate, rightful development of the early church. Conversely, he viewed Protestant churches as representing a break in this organic development, characterizing their departures from established tradition as "corruptions" rather than valid evolutions. For Newman, true development meant that the ultimate shape of the church remained faithful to the original idea from which it started.21