Cardinal Avery Dulles (1918–2008) was probably the most respected Catholic theologian in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The author of twenty-four books and more than eight hundred articles, Dulles was widely known and read long before he received his red hat in 2001. A scholar with a voluminous knowledge of the history of his craft, Dulles was (...)
Article
A Model Theologian
The Legacy of Avery Dulles
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A wonderful essay, but one which leaves me asking the question of how all of these theological discussions play out in the life of the people. As a hospice Chaplain working some 45 years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, I still encounter people who are desperate for Dad or Mom or Grandma to receive the "Last Rites," who have no sense of the Bible or of the Catholic--big and small "c"--tradition of Christianity or of the essentially communal nature of Christianity itself. It's still all about Jesus and me--or, in the case of the unanointed relative, Jesus and Grandpa. Perhaps the most telling passage in this reflection on Dulles' work is "(M)any of the Catholic faithful and theologians already believed that some members of the hierarchy were better middle managers than they were theologians." I would only substitute "most" for "some."
But alas, the past few years--and days--have shown us that their acumen as middle managers is also open to serious question.