First anniversary of the passing of Avery Dulles

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf reminds us:

It is a long tradition to pray for the dead on the 3rd day after death, 30th day and 1st year.

Say a prayer for the late Avery Card. Dulles, who died one year ago today.

Related

• Remembering Avery Dulles, by Robert P. Imbelli (Commonweal)

Avery Cardinal Dulles 1918-2008

Avery Cardinal Dulles passed away at about 6:30 on the morning of December 12th, 2008 -- at Murray-Weigel Hall, the Jesuit infirmary, located at Fordham University, in Bronx, New York.

• Homily of Fr. Joseph O'Hare Mass of the Holy Eucharist in honor of Cardinal Dulles. Fordham University Chapel (Bronx, NY). December 18, 2008.
• Report: Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, Laid to Rest James Martin, SJ. America December 18, 2008.
• Cardinal Dulles' Funeral: A Brief Theological Note, by Tom Beaudoin. America December 18, 2008.

Obituaries | In the News

• Avery Dulles, 90; Prominent Catholic Cardinal, Theologian (Obituary) Washington Post December 14, 2008.
• Cardinal Avery Dulles: Roman Catholic theologian, by Joseph Bottum. Times (London) December 13, 2008.
• Cardinal Avery Dulles, Theologian, Is Dead at 90, by Robert D. McFadden. New York Times December 12, 2008.
• Remembering Cardinal Avery Dulles, by Michael Paulson. "Articles of Faith" Boston Globe December 13, 2008.
• The Society of Jesus Mourns the Passing of Avery Cardinal Dulles December 12, 2008.
• Fordham Mourns the Death of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. Fordham University. December 12, 2008.
• Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., RIP, by John Allen, Jr. National Catholic Reporter

"Having learned with sadness of the death of Cardinal Avery Dulles, I offer you my heartfelt condolences, which I ask you to kindly convey to his family, his confreres in the Society of Jesus and the academic community of Fordham University. I join you in commending the late Cardinal's noble soul to God, the Father of Mercies, with immense gratitude for the deep learning, serene judgment and unfailing love of the Lord and his Church which marked his entire priestly ministry and his long years of teaching and theological research. At the same time I pray that his convincing personal testimony to the harmony of faith and reason will continue to bear fruit for the conversion of minds and hearts and the progress of the gospel for many years to come. To all who mourn him in the hope of the resurrection I cordially impart my apostolic blessing as a pledge of consolation and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ." - Pope Benedict XVI.

Personal Tributes

• Pope Benedict XVI Notes Gratitude for Late Cardinal Dulles Zenit News Service. December 14, 2008.
• The Very Model Of Lucidity, by George Weigel. Newsweek December 13, 2008.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles - Remembrances by Fr. Robert Sirico The Acton Institute. December 12, 2008.
• The passing of Cardinal Dulles, by Cardinal Sean O'Malley. December 12, 2008.
• Avery Dulles: Disciple of Jesus, by Drew Christiansen, SJ. America "In All Things" December 13, 2008.
• Avery, friend and hero, by James Martin, SJ. America "In All Things" December 12, 2008.
• President of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Expresses Sadness over Death of Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. December 12, 2008.

Collected Archives

• Avery Dulles: Collected Online Articles & Addresses
• Contributions to America Magazine.
• Contributions to First Things
• Avery Dulles: Fordam University's Videos-on-Demand - Including the McGinley Lectures and his creation as a Cardinal in Rome on February 21, 2001.

Update on Cardinal Avery Dulles' Health

Fr. Robert Imbelli has an update on Cardinal Avery Dulles' health (.dotCommonweal June 1, 2008):

Yesterday I had the privilege of spending some time with Cardinal Avery Dulles in the Jesuit community infirmary at Fordham. A privilege, not in the first instance, because he is a Cardinal of the Church, nor even because he is a renowned theologian, but because he is an inspiring witness of faith.

As many know, Cardinal Dulles is afflicted by the remnants of the polio he contracted while a naval officer during the Second World War. He can no longer speak, and the muscles of his arms are also impaired. Yet his mind is lucid, he continues to read and work, and communicates slowly by touching the letters of his computer keyboard. ... (Read More).

Related

• A Life in Theology Avery Dulles' 39th McGinley Lecture. America Magazine April 21, 2008.
• The Legacy of Avery Dulles, S.J. America Magazine March 31, 2008.

Avery Dulles' Farewell Address

Annual Spring McGinley Lecture to Feature Cardinal Dulles' Farewell Address:

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Ph.D., the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, will deliver his 39th McGinley lecture on Tuesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. at the Leonard Theatre, Fordham Preparatory School, on the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. The lecture is titled, "Farewell Address as Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society (1988 – 2008)."

A response to the lecture will be given by Rev. Robert P. Imbelli, Ph.D., associate professor of theology at Boston College.

Cardinal Dulles, who will stay on as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society Emeritus, has held the McGinley chair since 1988. Born in Auburn, N.Y., he is an internationally known author and lecturer. Named to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II in 2001, he is the only United States-born theologian who is not a bishop ever to receive this honor. Cardinal Dulles has published 23 books and more than 800 articles, essays and reviews on theological topics.

(Via Gary Stern @ Blogging Religiously).

* * *

Update (3/4/08): Catholic News Service reports on Avery Cardinal Dulles' farewell address:

Cardinal Dulles, a Jesuit theologian, ended his 20-year series of annual McGinley lectures, from 1988 to 2008, with a short summation of his theology and his ministry and a synopsis of his previous lectures. ...

Confined to a wheelchair and incapable of prolonged speech as a result of post-polio syndrome which he originally contacted when he was in the Navy 62-years ago, Jesuit Father Joseph P O'Hare, Fordham's former president, gave the presentation for the cardinal.

Father Robert P. Imbelli, a New York archdiocesan priest, who is associate theology professor at Jesuit-run Boston College, presented an analysis of the cardinal's speech.

As ever, Dulles exemplified the discipline and integrity of a loyal servant of Christ and his Church, in service not to his own ambitions but to the truth:

[Dulles] said his principal aim in his lectures was "to present and classify the existing opinions" and "to criticize views that are inadequate."

He always tried "to incorporate the valid insights of all parties to the discussion, rather than perpetuate a one-sided view that is partial and incomplete," he said.

"I think of myself as a moderate trying to make peace between (opposing) schools of thought. While doing so, however, I insist on logical consistency. Unlike certain relativists of our time, I abhor mixtures of contradiction," Cardinal Dulles said.

He began his theological lectures "by asking what others, especially authoritative voices, had to say about pertinent questions," he said. If everyone agreed, "it is sufficient to note the consensus," he added.

If a spectrum of opinions existed, "I sought out the best arguments in favor of each major position," he continued. He said his intention was "to give an informed judgment as to which positions are sound and which should be rejected."

In each case, "I am willingly adhering to the testimony of Scripture and perennial Catholic tradition," he said.

The cardinal admitted he never strove for originality.

"Very few new ideas, I suspect, are true. If I conceived a theological idea that had never occurred to anyone in the past, I would have every reason to think myself mistaken," he said.

In the presentation Cardinal Dulles reconfirmed his faith, his orthodoxy, his spirituality and his commitment to the Society of Jesus. He also offered a final word against the materialism, relativism, subjectivism, hedonism, scientism and superficial anti-intellectualism he said is found in modern society.

Cardinal Avery Dulles on Pope John Paul II

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., is currently the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University. Past President of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society and Professor Emeritus at The Catholic University of America, Cardinal Dulles has served on the International Theological Commission and as a member of the United States Lutheran/Roman Catholic Coordinating Committee. He was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in February 2001, the first U.S. theologian to be so honored in such a manner. He is author of The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II. John Paul II and the Mystery of the Human Person - Oct. 1, 2003. Fordham University McGinley Lecture. [Streaming Video]; Article in Print America February 2, 2004. Vol. 190 No. 3. [subscription required]. Truth as the Ground of Freedom: A Theme from John Paul II The Acton Institute, 2002. Can Philosophy Be Christian? On the encyclical Fides Et Ratio. First Things 102 (April 2000): 24-29. John Paul II and The Advent of The New Millennium originally delivered at Fordham University on Nov. 16, 1999 as the Eighth Annual Fall McGinley Lecture. John Paul II and the Truth about Freedom First Things 55 (August/September 1995): 36-41. Centesimus Annus and the Renewal of Culture Markets & Morality Volume 2, Number 1. Spring 1999. Speech delivered to a conference on the encyclical Centesimus Annus, sponsored by the Acton Institute, Washington, D.C., May 13—14, 1996. The Gospel of Life: A Symposium. First Things, 56 (October 1995): 32-38. Participating in a discussion of Evangelium Vitae.