abstract:Basil Christopher Butler OSB (7 May 1902–20 September 1986), was a convert from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic priest, the 7th Abbot of Downside Abbey, one-time Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, a bishop, an internationally respected scripture scholar, a consistent defender of the priority of the Gospel according to Matthew, and perhaps the pre-eminent English-speaking Council Father at the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962–1965).