A Voice of orthodox Catholic Faith is silent: Cardinal Avery Dulles dies at 90

The first American to ever become Cardinal as a non-bishop passed away on December 12. Cardinal Avery Dulles, a convert to Catholicism, died at Fordham University. His life was spent defending the fullness of the Catholic Faith.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - On Friday, December 12, 2008, the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, Cardinal Avery Dulles, 90, passed away at Murray-Weigel Hall, the infirmary on the campus of Fordham University in New York.

The son of John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Cardinal Dulles was born and raised in New York as a member of a prominent and successful family. His uncle, Allen Dulles, directed the U.S. espionage during World War II and later became the director of the CIA.

As members of the Presbyterian Church, the Dulles family was shocked when Avery converted to Catholicism as a senior at Harvard University in 1940. After a year and a half at Harvard Law School he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy just as America entered into WWII.

After his discharge in 1946, Dulles joined the Jesuits and was ordained a priest ten years later. Already emerging as a strong theologian, he was sent to the Gregorian University in Rome where he was awarded a doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1960.

Cardinal Dulles served on the faculty of Woodstock College from 1960 until 1974, and then at Catholic University of America for fourteen years. In 1988 he joined the faculty at Fordham University, where he remained until his death.

He was created a Cardinal on February 21, 2001 by Pope John Paul II, as a part of the same class with Archbishop Egan from New York and Archbishop McCarrick from Washington, DC. He was the first American-born theologian, who was not a bishop, to receive this honor.

Cardinal Dulles' career in education and theology gave him the reputation as a champion of orthodox Catholic teaching in an age where reform and theological liberalism was on the rise. He was especially regarded as an expert on Vatican II, defending the work of the council with respect to reinterpretation by those who desired to loosen the theological moorings of the Church. He consistently defended the pope and the Catholic Church against cultural demands and societal pressures regarding abortion, artificial birth control, priestly celibacy, the ordination of women and other issues.

The theologian was highly regarded, even by his most ardent adversaries. They described him as one who set a high standard for theological rigor and fairness. During his vast career, Cardinal Dulles was an advisor to the Vatican as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

He published twenty-three books including Models of the Church (1974), Models of Revelation (1983), The Catholicity of the Church (1985), The Craft of Theology: From Symbol to System (1992), The Assurance of Things Hoped For: A Theology of Christian Faith (1994), The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II (1999), The New World of Faith (2000), Newman (2002).

His most recent books were a revised edition of The History of Apologetics (2005), and Magisterium: Teacher and Guardian of the Faith (2007).

The author of over 750 articles on various theological topics, he also had served as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society.

Upon learning of the Cardinal's passing, Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop of New York, stated, "Cardinal Dulles was an eminent theologian and professor of theology in seminaries and universities throughout the nation. All of us here in the archdiocese are very much indebted to him for his wisdom and priestly example."

Pope Benedict XVI sent the following telegram yesterday to Cardinal Egan.

"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."

A voice of orthodox Catholicism has gone silent. Cardinal Dulles will be missed by us all.

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Randy Sly is a communications specialist and Associate Editor for Catholic Online. A former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, he has served in full-time Christian ministry for over 30 years. He and his wife Sandy came into the full communion of the Catholic Church three years ago.

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